Shall We Dance?
by thecrazydragonlady15
Summary: The school is hosting a Winter Masquerade Ball but how is Marinette supposed to contend with a mask, a dress, heels, and two left feet? Lessons that's how! Good thing Adrien is a good teacher! Primarily Adrinette but there will be at least one chapter with the other portions of the Love Square. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Jesus Christmas why is this system giving me problems? I hope it works this time. I'm really trying to get it to not be a mess!**

 _Chapter 1_

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was screwed and she knew it. Her face grew pale as she continued to listen to Mr. Damocles his speech about the upcoming Winter Masquerade Ball the school was hosting. Apparently, it was meant to be a chance at a historical research project or something outlandish like that; really though, anyone who had eyes merely had to look over at Chloé to put two and two together to get four. The list of reasons for why she would "insist" on having a Winter Masquerade are numerous but Marinette didn't have time to think about all that. She had a laundry list of new things to worry about.

Like dancing for example.

Oh she was fine design wise. She already had a beautiful pink princess style dress patterned and ready to make for herself (she was planning to enter it into a dress design competition, sue her) and it wouldn't take her long to design something for Alya but heels, dress, and mask aside, she had two very dangerous left feet to contend with. A whole host of scenarios ran through her mind of how she was going to ruin everything. Only Alya seemed to notice her concern. Everyone else was focused on their principal, and Marinette returned to reality long enough to hear, "Students, you will have until December tenth to finish your projects and turn them in for presentation at the ball. The school will also be providing ballroom dancing lessons every Wednesday afterschool until then. We will be bringing in a professional teacher to conduct those classes. If you would like to attend them, make sure to sign up before the end of school today. Any questions?" No one raised their hands so he dismissed them for their lunch. Poor Mari disappeared into her mind again. Alya shot her a sympathetic look, gave her a pat on the shoulder, and grabbed her bag.

"Come on Mari. Let's head over to your place. We can at least start brainstorming the dresses. You know I only want a Marinette original on this bod." The dark-haired girl gave a murmur. Alya shook her head. She grabbed her elbow gently and guided her out the room. Mari was so distracted that she missed both Nino and Adrien saying good-bye to them and she barely missed the door frame; thank goodness for Alya and her quick reactions. Said girl took it upon herself to guide her friend out of the school building. Down the sidewalk. Across the street. Into the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Finally, into her room where Mari immediately took a seat at her desk and began flipping frantically through her designs in search of something for her friend. Alya took it upon herself to accept the light lunch from Sabine (she thought it was cool that Mari's parents wanted all of her friends to call them by their first names instead of Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng). She sat on the chaise lounge eating silently as she watched her friend. Every now and then she would mumble something, hold up a piece of paper to eye her and it at the same time, before rejecting it and going back to her search and design. Eventually she found something. With a bright gasp, she held up another design before showing it to Alya. The second girl squealed. "It's perfect Mari!"

"Glad you like it," she chirped as she reached for a notepad, making a note of all the materials she was going to need for both of the dresses. She started her mumbling again. Alya eyed her for a second then stood and joined her at the desk, leaning on it.

"Girl, you have got to relax. Your designs are going to be off the chain. We are going to look like two hot chicks even if Chloé comes in an Agreste original." She paused and then slapped her forehead. "Oh wait. It's not the designs you're worried about. Knowing you, it's probably the dancing. Right?"

Mari flinched and pouted up at her. "Alya, I'm going to mess up! You can't admit that I'm not clumsy! What if I go to dance with Adrien and my two left feet get in the way and I fall on top of him and break a bone or give him a concussion which sends him to the hospital either way? Then Adrien and Mr. Agreste will both hate me and I'll be banned from being friends with him, let alone a girlfriend, and I'll never get a chance in the fashion world! I'll be stuck sweeping streets. Maybe even begging? Point it: My. Life. Is. Over!"

Alya lost it. She tried really hard to not laugh but this. This was too much. She loved her best friend but her insecurities were a little much to deal with from time to time; this particular time had her doubled over in pain as she held her sides and tried to breathe. Mari continued to pout. It took a moment for her to regain her voice.

"You have got to chill girl. There's just a couple of holes in that scenario. Like, you asking Adrien to dance? You've got to get a halfway decent sentence out to him instead of 'Hey A-a-a-uh-guh-ah'."

"I've gotten better," she defended.

"Riiiight. Anyway, even then, you need to be more concerned with the dresses right now. We can sign up for those classes when we get back and I'll make sure to clear my schedule to be there with you."

"Yeah! You're the best friend anyone can ask for."

"Don't I know it? Anyway, when do you want to get started on these dresses?" Mari eyed the design and her shopping list.

"You free tomorrow afternoon? The sooner I can get the measurements and materials, the better in my opinion." _Especially since I don't know when Hawkmoth will mess up my day_ , she thought bitterly. Alya nodded and took another bite out of the sandwich she'd been eating.

"Sounds good to me. Say, why don't we invite Nino and Adrien along?" Mari pushed back from her desk, her eyes wide.

"A-Adrien?! Why?" Alya shrugged.

"I figured he might be interested in seeing what you're doing. After all, he is a designer's son." Mari narrowed her eyes.

"You've got something else planned don't you?"

Alya batted her eyelashes and moved away from the table. She sauntered over to the chaise lounge to gather her belongings. "I have no idea what you could mean my dear Marinette."

"Alya…."

"My lips are sealed and no amount of begging will get them to come undone. C'mon. We need to get back to school to sign up for those classes." The brunette left out the trap door first, shutting it behind her. Tikki flew up from Mari's purse, a giggle on her lips. Mari grumped at her.

"Don't you say it. I know what you're thinking and it's not going to work."

"Oh Mari…."

"It won't. Adrien isn't going to go with us, I'm not going to get my chance to ask him to dance with me, and you and Alya are not going to start some weird shipping name for us."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged before vanishing again with a fresh cookie into the purse.

Marinette came down the stairs this time, carrying her own dirty dishes. Both girls helped with washing, drying, and putting up before grabbing a small tart each from Tom on their way back to school. She was feeling more like herself having already picked out the dress patterns so quickly and making a list of the things that she needed to make them but the dancing still weighed heavily on her mind. Alya dragged her over to the sign-up sheet as soon as they entered the building. Eyeing it showed her two things: one, that a majority of the students in her class and several from the other classes had signed up and, two, that Adrien had not. She guessed that would make sense. Living in high society meant that he probably had a whole repertoire of ballroom dancing styles and skills. That or he was booked on Wednesdays now and she just didn't know. She hadn't updated his schedule in her room in a while and made a note to do so soon. Alya patted her on the shoulder again. Once both of their names were written down, they returned to the classroom where both Nino and Adrien were sitting in their usual seats. Alya leaned down quickly to give Nino a quick kiss on the cheek. Mari blushed heavily when she spotted her making eyes at her as if to say "You should do the same to Adrien." If anything, this made her avoid eye contact with the boy as she made her way to her own seat where she promptly met the other girl with an elbow in the side. She merely giggled.

Before Ms. Bustier could get started, she leaned down and tapped Nino on the shoulder. "Hey Nino, Adrien," she called, getting the blonde's attention, "Mari's gotta get some supplies to make our dresses. I figured since it's a given that at least the three of us are going together," she motioned to herself, Mari, and Nino, "we could all go look at the materials together. You already know you're going to be matching me babe. No amount of arguing will stop it." Nino rolled his eyes as she playfully rubbed his head.

"Wasn't going to dude."

"Smart."

"Uh, Alya," Adrien cut in. "What do I have to do with any of this?" All three turned their eyes to meet him so quickly, it almost made him wonder what in the world he just said wrong.

"Uh dude, you know you're part of this group whether you want to be or not?"

"Yeah Adrien. You're one of our friends. You are more than welcomed to join us. I just haven't gotten the chance to ask if you wanted to go to the ball together and for the record, one of us was going to ask you to come." He blinked and looked between the three of them. His heart beat rapidly and heat rushed to his face, causing him to stutter for a second. Never. Never had he been treated like this before and it made him feel almost like a kid let loose in a candy shop. "So what do you say? Can we expect you tomorrow afternoon and at the ball?"

"I'll go," he quickly answered. "I'll go. To both." He would have to sneak away from Nathalie and the Gorilla but he would do it; he would go, he would have fun, and he would have some bonding time with his friends. Alya and Nino let out a triumphant shout while Marinette released an unearthly screech. Adrien eyed her. Did she not… Did she not want him to go? Before he could ask, a voice cut in.

"I'm sorry but I didn't realize I taught in a zoo. If you four would kindly stop being loud in class, we can begin today." The four of them sunk a bit in their chairs, appropriately abashed, as Ms. Bustier introduced some Victorian Literature, explaining that ballroom dancing was important to that society and would thus be part of their focus for the rest of the fall semester.

Marinette was unfortunately so focused on what the teacher was saying that she failed to see the wheels turning rapidly in Alya's head.

Oh, tomorrow was going to be fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Everyone! Thank-you so very much! I was happy by the reads and likes and reblogs and favorites and what have you that I was really motivated to push out Chapter 2 as soon as possible! So, here it is. Now, I have to give a disclaimer that my holiday is ending this Sunday and starting next week, I'll be back at work. Please understand that while I might update several chapters in the next couple of days, I will not be able to keep this up come next week. I'll try to figure out a day where I can update weekly or bi-weekly depending on how everything goes. Well, I hope I live up to everyone's expectations! Enjoy!**

 **(PS- this chapter is actually cut in half. I got a little carried away with writing it. Woopsies.)**

 **Chapter 2**

The following afternoon, Marinette ran across the street, breathing hard. An akuma attack during the earlier part of the day resulted in the later classes being cancelled which was fantastic because it was a rather stubborn creature who called himself Sewer Rat and it had taken her and Chat Noir nearly three hours to catch him. She was exhausted and used the free time to nap. Of course, this was a double edged sword as she basically pulled a her and was thus late to meeting up with her friends. All three were waiting for her at the front of the stairs of the school as she came running up, panting.

"S-sorry," she gasped.

"Don't worry about it. We weren't waiting too long," Alya teased, "I think that's the shortest wait time we've ever had with you."

"Ha-ha. You're hilarious."

"Don't you know it? Anyway, shall we get going? Lead the way Mari." Alya stood up from her seat on the stairs and brushed off her pants. Nino wrapped an arm around her waist after she was done. Mari straightened herself from her doubled over position and took a steadying breath. She pulled out her cellphone.

"There's a new fabric shop on the other side of the city I've been wanting to visit. I figured now's a good time as any. The metro will be the fastest way to get there. We can also go to this little bistro over there if we're out later than expected."

All agreed that it was a good plan and they set off for the underground train system in high spirits. Mari kept eyeing Alya though as she walked arm-in-arm with Nino; she kept suspiciously eyeing her and giggling about something which meant that the girl was planning and this meant that Marinette was probably not going to enjoy whatever was about to happen. She pursed her lips. This worried expression then caused Adrien to grow concerned. He asked her about it and true to form, she stumbled over what she was saying which left him feeling even more confused. The weather was nice. The sun was shining without many clouds in the way but it couldn't have been more than twenty-two degrees Celsius. A little high for the fall and oncoming winter but better than freezing. Nino suggested that if it kept up, they should totally have a picnic in the park for lunch with Marinette's parents providing the food of course. Adrien agreed rather rapidly. This elicited a giggle and a promise to talk to her parents about it later this week.

The metro wasn't too crowded. There were a good number of people on the platform but the rush hour hadn't happened yet. A feeling of relief ran through the group. All had at one point experienced that horror and were extremely happy that they were managing to avoid it.

A box-shaped engine, decorated in white and green that were both faded with time, pulled into the station with a hiss. The doors slid open and groups of people got off before the new group stepped in. Marinette's toe caught on the line between platform and train and she pitched forward. Adrien, standing behind her, caught her arm before she could kiss train floor.

"Th-thanks," she mumbled.

"No problem. Just be careful Marinette. It'd be bad if the person we're shopping for got injured. I don't think you want any of us picking out fabric for you."

"Speak for yourself Agreste," Alya cut in, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "I happen to know exactly what my girl is looking for and besides, I know what I want to wear." Mari smirked.

"For _your_ dress. Did you forget I'm going too?" The dark skinned girl narrowed her eyes.

"You haven't shown me your dress so how would I know?"

"Exactly." The warning bell went off for the train. The doors were beginning to hiss shut as the train got ready to take off down the line.

It was at this exact moment that Marinette learned what Alya had been giggling about earlier. In the span of a second, the following events occurred: Alya nodded to Nino and they both reached out, pushing Adrien into her, and both of them into the closing door. It shut with a subtle thud as they landed with a not so subtle one on the ground; Mari released a grunt. Their position was rather compromising. Both faces flashed bright red as he scrambled first to get up and then offer her a hand up. She returned to normal the higher she rose. Then, anger flashed in her eyes and she ran to the door, pressing her face against the window. Alya and Nino stood there. She was smiling and waving. He shrugged and pointed to her as if to say, "Listen, not my idea but I do love her and fear for my life when she tells me to do something. Wacky plans included." Mari narrowed her eyes at both of them as they began to shrink away and were replaced with brick. Adrien rubbed the back of her neck.

"Sorry about landing on you. I was taken by surprise." Mari sighed.

"It's not your fault. Don't worry about it. I have two other people I can blame."

"Speaking of which…."

"Don't bother. They're still on the platform and if they know what's good, they'll go home and back their bags and find a new country to live in." Adrien jerked a bit. He'd never heard Marinette sound so… so… cold before. If this was what her fury sounded and looked like, he never wanted to be on the receiving end of it. She noticed the jerk and deflated a bit. "Sorry. I'm just a bit peeved."

He waved it off. "That's understandable." Suddenly, both of their phones dinged, alerting them to text messages.

 _ **Alya (To Marinette): Srry. Just rmbrd bbysit dty. HF4US!**_ (Sorry. Just remembered baby-sitting duty. Have fun for us!)

 _ **Nino (To Adrien): Srry dde. Bbyst dty. Later.**_ (Sorry dude. Baby-sitting duty. Later.)

Both of them looked up and rolled their eyes. "Looks like we've been ditched," he muttered, holding his phone up for her to see.

"You think they're going for an intense make-out session?" She showed him hers. He rolled his again.

"That better be _all_ they're going to do. Anyway, do you still want to go to the shop? We could always just go back and drag them with us by their ears." She shook her head.

"No, we're already here. Might as well make the most of the day anyway." They fell into a comfortable silence as the train ran along the track. Marinette sent a hasty text back to Alya.

 _ **Mari: URD2M.**_ (You are dead to me.)

She turned her phone off immediately to not see the reply. Let her steep over that one. They watched the brick wall fly by, accented every now and then by a stray light outside the train; the trip wasn't long and within the next several moments, they were exiting the station and walking along the sidewalk. Despite the lack of conversation, Mari found herself thinking and feeling that it was a lot more comfortable to be around Adrien and a surge of confidence in her system made her think that maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't make herself out to be an idiot today. Adrien cleared his throat to bring her back.

"So Mari," he started slowly, "How'd you get into fashion?" She smiled.

"When I was younger, I remember sitting on the couch with my parents and watching one of the largest fashion shows in the world. It was so… so magical! All of the dresses were beautiful and it made the models look like they were flying. I wanted so badly to learn how to make things like it. I bugged my parents for weeks to learn how to sew and finally, I got my first kit. It was for a little toy bear and it came with all the basic materials: thimble, child-safe needles, thread, felt, stuffing, eyes, and so on. I worked with my mom at our table for nearly two weeks and when I was done, it was… well…"

"Beautiful? Amazing? Perfect?" Mari blinked. A laugh came from her lips and it even created a little bit of a blush across his nose.

"Perfect? Oh no. Not even close. It was the ugliest little thing. The right arm was lower than the left and the head was always leaning to the right and the eyes were crooked." She giggled again. "But I was so proud of that little bear. I still have him. He's hidden in my closet for protection; the years have been a little mean and I don't want him to deteriorate too badly. Since then, I've been practicing. I graduated to actual supplies when I got a little older." She turned and smiled brightly up at him. "And you know what started it? That fashion show I watched? It was an Agreste show." He stopped. Heat was really rushing to his face now. She spoke about her love of creating so tenderly and even more so of the show she watched. The smile never dimmed. If anything, it got brighter and brighter until it nearly blinded him. It almost reminded him of his own mother.

"You smile just like her," he whispered before he could stop himself. She had turned to open the door to the little shop she'd led him to and so missed what he said; she tilted her head a bit back towards him.

"Pardon?" He shook his head.

"Nothing." He grabbed the door to hold it open for her.

The shop was quaint and not like anything he'd seen before. Adrien was used to the larger named stores and companies that dealt with his father but he admitted that this kind of place had its own kind of charm. There was a glass counter at the front where more electronic and expensive goods were on display; walking in a couple more feet meant that they came face to face with rows and rows and rows of different styles and types of fabrics. He noticed that Marinette was suddenly vibrating. Her eyes lit up and she excitedly started reaching for them. She ran a couple between her fingers. Her bluebell eyes scanned each with an intensity and scrutiny that he'd only seen a few times when he'd accompanied his father for some new purchases. It was strange seeing that look here, on her. He'd only seen the flustered, confused Marinette up close and from a far a strong, courageous young woman. This was new. This was the passionate designer with the wheels spinning hard. After a couple of seconds with the bolt, she remembered who she was with, growing abashed at her behavior. She sat the bolt back down.

"S-sorry."

"Don't be!"

"I've been wanting to come here for a while that I just kind of lost it." She rubbed the back of her neck. He smiled at her.

"Like I said, don't worry. I'll just wander around while you get what you need. Just let me know when you're good to go." Marinette watched as he wandered off to look at some of the other isles and mentally, she wanted to knock herself senseless. Not being awkward uh? So much for that. She sighed and turned back to the fabric and Tikki popped her head out of the purse, giving her a reassuring smile. A gentle finger across her head assured her that she was alright and she disappeared again to eat one of the many cookies stashed away for her.

The search continued. She went as quickly as possible but all she really wanted was to stay there all day among the fabrics and tools. Adrien was polite about it. She asked him a couple of times if he wanted to go somewhere else but he refused to leave her alone, saying that he'd never been to a store like this and he wanted to explore a little bit more. Plagg whispered some teasing lines from inside the front of his shirt when she was out of ear shot. Something about treating his girlfriend pretty nice. Adrien patted the pocket and threatened to withhold all camembert for the rest of the week if he didn't knock it off. Needless to say, the black cat-like kwami went silent for the rest of the time they were there.

"Hey Adrien," she called from about an isle away from him, "Can you come help me? I need a little help carrying a bolt up to the counter." He came and found her struggling to hold three different bolts up along with a couple of minor sewing knick-knacks and supplies. A bolt dropped. He sprung forward to catch it. He did.

He also caught Marinette's outstretched hand.

Both of them jerked back at the sudden contact. The bolt hit the ground anyway.

"S-sorry!"

"Sorry!"

They blinked at each other's sudden outburst then burst into laughter. He stooped to pick up the fabric. He also reached for a second one. "Here, let me." She relinquished it willingly, grasping her other items easily. "You sure are getting a lot. Those dresses must be something uh?"

She winked. "If that's your way of asking to see the designs, how about I show you over dinner at the bistro next door? Only Alya's though. Mine's a surprise."

"And why's that?"

"Tut-tut Adrien. You can't expect a girl to give away all of her secrets."

"But…."

"But nothing. My design. My secret." _One of a couple but who's counting?_

"Not even a hint?"

"You're holding the hint. Honestly, burnt orange doesn't look to fabulous against in my complexion in large quantities. This," she shook the bolt still in her hands, "is for Alya and Nino." He looked down at the sheer pink and solid pink fabrics in his hand and blinked for a second, distracted from thinking too much about it by her statement.

"Wait, Nino?"

"You heard Alya yesterday. Nino's matching her no matter what. I'm making him a bow and pocket square plus the mask. It is a masquerade ball the school's throwing."

They sat everything on the counter and the sales person immediately came to help. She cut the fabrics to Marinette's specified lengths, bagged everything, and rang up the total. It came out close to ninety-five euros. Her face paled a bit but she reached for the money, only to be cut off by Adrien reaching around her with a card. She had been doing well. Really well. However, this caused her to stutter.

"A-Adrien! Wha-why-what? What in the world?"

"I'm buying," he deadpanned.

"I noticed but this is…."

"Your stuff. Your project. Is Alya paying you for this? How about Nino?"

"You already know the answer is no!"

"Then count this as me paying for the three of us." She blinked.

"Th-three of us?" He smiled, taking the bags off the counter with thanks. Mari grabbed one before he tried to carry everything by himself and they proceeded back out the door they'd come in almost an hour ago. She eyed him. "What did you mean back there? The three of us?" Adrien smirked and shrugged.

"Alya, Nino, and me. I live and breathe fashion Marinette. It's not fair for you to make these without even a little payment and before you complain about it," he cut her off. Marinette immediately shut her mouth. "I'll earn that money back in one photoshoot. Besides, I've just been holding on to it so it feels nice to spend it on someone as awesome as you." He was kind of pleased to see a blush rage across her nose. It was only fair that he repay her for the one she'd given him earlier.

"But what would I make you that your father won't already put you in?"

"Well, we're going as a group. Alya and Nino are already going to match so I figured, we should too."

"Yeah but they're dating!"

"And?"

Marinette stopped, cocked her hip, and placed both crowded hands on them, resulting in the bags slapping her thighs. Adrien stopped too. He was more shocked at the slightly mad expression coming from her eyes. "And Adrien Agreste? And? Really? Do you not know how this will look to everyone else? If Alya and Nino are dating and matching then you and I show up matching, what is everyone going to think?"

Oh. He hadn't thought of that.

Adrien's head dropped and his shoulders slumped. "You're right. I'm sorry Mari. I didn't think about it like that."

She sighed and smiled. Dropping a couple of her bags for a second, she patted his head. The motion and moment felt really familiar to the both of them but they only swallowed it down, blaming it on the situation or whatever. "It's alright Adrien. I'll be happy to make a matching bow tie and pocket square for you." She picked her bags back up and winked at his shocked expression. "Next time, just ask me properly to dance alright?"

Adrien's jaw dropped as she started walking down the sidewalk. Internally, Marinette was screaming. Did she just flirt with him?!

Tikki popped her head out of the purse, having heard everything, and giggled, confirming that she had in fact just done that and now, she was going to have to spend the rest of this afternoon thinking and stressing about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: Aight so this chapter literally went, "Screw you, we'er gonna do the thing" and I was like, "But I don't want you to do the thing" and it went and did the thing anyway. So basically half of this chapter is not how I planned it out. In fact, now I have to rethink all of the chapters I've planned out. That's not too bad. This is slowly turning into the reveal fic I didn't want it to be. Both of them are so adorably oblivious though. It was kind of hard to avoid/ resist. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3**

Adrien was out for revenge.

Marinette had left him on the sidewalk with his jaw hanging open horribly wide, earning him some stares from the other people out that day. It also earned him some soft teasing from Plagg who could no longer resist it. She'd walked off pretty fast too after that little number. It hadn't been part of his imagination; Marinette Dupain-Cheng had _flirted_ , that's right _flirted_ , with him and he had reacted as if he had no idea how to handle it.

He didn't but that was beside the point.

Now he was driven by revenge. He wanted to make sure her face flared red just as badly as his did and he eyed her very carefully as they sat at their dining table and the waitress took their order. He noticed a couple of things he'd never seen before.

For example, the freckles that dusted her nose. The way her bangs bounced when she started talking excitedly. How bright her eyes were when she was passionate.

He was so focused that he nearly missed giving his order to the waitress but did so quickly. Getting her to leave was the first step. That was wishful thinking though. When she was done, the waitress stood there hesitantly and then pulled out another pad and paper and stutteringly admitted to knowing who he was and asked for an autograph. He hesitated and when she noticed, she very quickly apologized, saying that it wasn't for her. Her younger sister was a fan but because she was so frequently hospitalized, she just wasn't able to attend any of his modeling shows. Adrien smiled softly and went against his own policy by quickly signing a note to the little girl named Clare, wishing her well. When she finally left, he turned to meet a smiling Marinette.

"What?"

"You are a literal ray of sunshine you know?" He blinked then narrowed his eyes.

"Is that a comment on my hair?"

"Not at all," she smirked, leaning back in her chair to stir her tea. "Okay, maybe just a little but you are just a really brilliant person. In more ways than one."

"Do tell." He leaned forward on the table, placing his chin in his hands. She started to fidget and look nervous which meant, he realized within seconds, that all he had to do was keep this going to get his revenge.

How sweet and easy it was.

"Uh-well-I mean… you're always bringing a smile to someone's face even if it puts you out. Like that girl just now. I know you don't like giving autographs. I heard what you told Chloé when she asked you to sign that poster of hers."

"That was the second one," he muttered. "Apparently Sabrina did something to the first one when she was under Dark Cupid's control and Miraculous Ladybug didn't fix it." Mari flinched. Well, that was new to her. "Thankfully, she dropped it and I read what it said this time so I knew not to sign it."

"Good. It was horrible for her to trick you." She took a sip of her tea then continued with, "Brilliance has two definitions though. Not only are you kind and selfless, you are really intelligent. Let's just say, I'm jealous of your ability to speak Chinese and do physics with no problems." Adrien smiled. He didn't expect her to be this sweet and kind to him especially after how their initial meeting went down. He sat back in his seat. Marinette looked up at him through her eyelashes. Alya was going to have a field day with this as soon as she heard about this and it seemed like he too was _enjoying_ this a little more than he should be.

"My turn Marinette." She blinked. His turn? For what?!

His gaze was on her far more intensely than it had been this whole afternoon. Softly, he began with, "I see a courageous, brilliant, and passionate person. You never do anything in half measure; if either of us is self-sacrificing, it's you. You've put yourself out more times than I could ever dream of doing and you always do it with such a passion that it's… well, it's just simply amazing."

Adrien. Was. Enjoying. This.

Oh how he was. The longer he talked, the redder her face grew and the more she fidgeted. She also made a couple of inhuman squeaks and noises that he found to be absolutely adorable and, secretly, he was glad that she wasn't acting like her usual self around him; an event he recalled only happened once and that was when he was helping her with her Uncle and the competition at the mayor's hotel. A very Chat like smile crossed his lips. Had he known that simply complimenting her was enough to create the puddle of goo on the other side of the table, he would have done it hours ago before she started embarrassing him.

Their food finally arrived and Adrien gave her a reprieve, choosing instead to talk about the dresses she was going to make. Mari's blush eventually faded as the conversation continued. Eventually, he convinced her to show the drawing and plan for Alya's dress but she flat out refused to show hers.

"But why not," he pouted at her. Mari ignored him. Instead, she pulled out her cellphone and quickly thumbed through the pictures until she got to the design she had for Alya and Nino, turning it to show him.

"I'm not showing that dress to anyone. No amount of charm is going to get me to reveal it either."

"That's not fair."

"How is that not fair?"

"Because... because you're hiding your talent from the rest of us!" She snickered.

"Really? That's the best reason you have for getting me to share?"

"Well, would you like me to _charm_ you into showing it?" She rolled her eyes.

"As if Agreste."

He raised his eyebrows and leaned back on the table. He reached out and pulled her hand close to him, placing a gentle kiss on the back, right above the knuckles. "Your designs are beautiful Marinette like yourself but this," he waved a hand at the phone, "is withholding some of that beauty from the rest of us. Please? Will you share it?" She flustered a bit before quickly exclaiming, "N-no way!"

He sat back. "Damn. I thought that would work."

If she had been drinking some tea, she would have spit it out. The reality of what he was doing hit her like a ton of bricks and she managed to squeak out, "Are you… Are you _flirting_ with me?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I'm taking that as a yes." She paused and then smirked at him, pulling her hand back and playfully pushing his nose, channeling as much of Ladybug as she could into the moment (she'd freak out over it tonight with Tikki and her diary) as she said, "Just remember, this game goes two ways."

"I wouldn't have it any other way my lady."

It took a minute for his words to sink in. Marinette's mouth dropped and Adrien's face paled. He covered by waving his hands widely and exclaiming, "I'vebeenwatchingvideosofChatNoirandhe'srubbingoffonme." He stood quickly, "W-we should get going." Grabbing the bags he'd helped carried earlier, he made his escape out the front door, face aflame, and dread twisting in his stomach. What if he just royally screwed up? Marinette was vastly different from Ladybug. He couldn't just go around calling her his lady when she was his princess and _completely_ different than his partner. Marinette followed him. She was panting though as she had to run to keep up with his ridiculously longer legs.

"Adrien! Wait a second!" He froze at the sound of her voice. They were standing on the sidewalk they'd come in on not too long ago and people milled about but it was rather easy to ignore them as he watched Marinette. She leaned forward a bit, panting a little. A long distance runner she was but sprints killed her.

She turned her head up to eye him. It was easy to tell that he was embarrassed by the exchange that had just occurred. The only thing she could think to do was laugh. It left her even more breathless. Adrien stared at her, his bright, green eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and doubt until she managed to sit up, wipe the tears from her eyes, and say, "I'm sorry Adrien. I didn't realize you were a Chat Noir fan."

He flinched. "Not really. I'm more of a Ladybug person myself."

It was her turn to flinch. "Ladybug huh? What makes you like her so much?" She watched, with a great level of dismay, as his face went from confusion, to a soft and tender, dare she think, _loving_ expression.

"What isn't there to like? She's courageous, smart, confident, extraordinary, all wrapped up in a rather beautiful package."

"How many times have you met her?"

"Just a couple." Not exactly a lie but then again, it was something else she couldn't know.

"Then how do you know all this about her? How do you know she just isn't a shaking mess under that mask?"

"I just do."

"That's not…."

"A good reason? I don't need any evidence. I trust what my gut says and it says that she's amazing."

She shook her head, slightly pleased but still bothered, by his faith in her superheroine persona. They started walking again until they came to a quaint little park that they decided to cut through and enjoy the rest of the day. Marinette fell silent though. She was still wrangling with everything he'd said between the bistro and just moments ago; part of her was excited that he clearly liked her but not the part of her that she would like. Ladybug was a temporary identity. She was new to Paris and when her face was covered, it was so easy to be all the things he described. Fear suddenly spiked in her body.

 _Does that mean that Marinette has no chance with Adrien?_

She wanted to cry and give up right there. Her first true crush was gone in a second just by a couple of words. He didn't mean to. How could he when she'd never worked up the courage to tell him how she felt? The reality of the situation weighed very heavily on her shoulders until she heard the sounds of giggles from behind them. A quick look revealed a red hat and brown colored haired that caused an eye roll from her. She leaned in close to Adrien, giving him a gentle nudge with her elbow to get his attention.

"Don't look now but we're being followed."

He turned his head a bit and saw the tip of a red hat and rolled his eyes as well. "What do we do?" She bit her bottom lip and smiled mischievously.

"Follow my lead." She started walking faster and he followed. The two people following them noticed and sped up but it just wasn't enough; Marinette and Adrien rounded a corner in the path and ducked into some bushes, completely out of sight. Alya and Nino, lagging a little behind his girlfriend, came onto the path and looked around.

"Aww man Alya. Mari totally figured it out."

"Hush Nino. They couldn't have gotten that far away."

"Dude, I told you this was a bad idea."

"Not necessarily. I got some pretty good candids." It was Nino's turn to roll his eyes.

"Mari's not going to like that."

"I'll deal with her."

Behind the bush, Marinette raised an eyebrow. Just how easy did Alya think she was? Adrien leaned close to her and whispered, "What's your plan?" She looked left and right and then motioned for him to go left.

"Distract'em." He nodded and, leaving his shopping bags behind, silently moved forward to another bush. Marinette went the opposite direction. Once he was set in place, Adrien started shaking the branches a bit. The two snoopers heard it and hesitantly eyed each other before tip-toeing forward to find the source of the noise. Alya, for once, ducked behind Nino. Akumas and villains she knew were real, she could handle. Mysterious noises in the park? No way. Distracted as they were, they failed to hear or see Marinette come out of the bushes behind them and sneak up slowly. Within seconds, they looked over the top of the plant only to see a crouched, smiling Adrien who waved at them. Marinette grabbed Alya by the waist and screamed, "BOO!"

The reactions were perfect. Alya jumped, throwing her arms around Nino's face and neck, effectively choking him and throwing the two of them off balance which resulted in them landing, butt first, on the ground. Adrien and Marinette lost it. He came out of the bushes laughing while she merely doubled over again. When both of them had regained the tiniest bit of composure, they reached out a fist each and said "Pound it!"

They blinked again in familiarity but forgot it as soon as they heard, "MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG YOU ARE SO DEAD." She gasped as her best friend grabbed her and started mussing with her hair. Marinette giggled like a mad woman.

"That's what you get. Should've just come with us this morning instead of making us hit the ground!" Nino walked over to Adrien and shrugged. Alya released her with a grunt.

"Ugh whatever. Did you get all the things you needed?"

"Of course. You and Nino get to help carry them home."

"Sure dude as long as it keeps me out of one of her hair-brain schemes again." Alya glared at him and stuck out her tongue. They gathered the bags and started for the metro. The boys walked some distance ahead and the nosy newswoman leaned down to whisper in Mari's ear, "How did it go today?"

Mari smiled sadly and replied, "I'll… I'll tell you when we get back to my place." Alya looked her over, concerned but thankfully, she was wise enough to let it die.

Marinette just hoped she was willing to let her whole crush-on-Adrien thing go as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: It has been a lot of fun writing these chapters! Everyone's kind words made it possible. I'm sorry they're a little bit shorter than normal but I wanted to make sure I had them for the holiday. The chapters after this weekend will go back to their normal length. Also, check out my tumblr blog for the rest of the updating schedule ( same screen name as here). Happy New Year's everyone!**

 **Chapter 4**

Marinette took a steadying breath and straightened her back. She waited for the music to start before she positioned her arms in the proper waltz position, rocked a bit in her high heels, and with the first note, began the box step. Everything that had transpired in the last twenty-four hours knocked around her head like a bouncy ball. It was dizzying. She stepped left.

" _What do you mean you're giving up on Adrien? Girl, you've had it bad for him for the last year!"_

 _She flinched at Alya's voice but continued to pull down the pictures she'd clipped of him from various magazine articles. "I mean just what I said. Adrien kind of admitted he liked another girl to me today." Alya's face dropped. She came over and stopped Marinette's hasty removal, hugging the girl tightly to her._

" _Oh Mari. I'm so sorry."_

 _She sniffled. "Hey, that's life right?"_

" _Yeah but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt any less." The dark skinned girl stroked her friend's blue-tinted hair. "It's alright to cry."_

Tears threatened her eyes once more but she breathed again and refused to let them fall. She'd cried yesterday. It lasted until late in the night which prompted a sleepover by Alya. Her parents had been cool with it. They knew something was wrong but they didn't ask; they knew Alya would help and that she would come around to talking about it soon. They'd binged watched several American TV shows, ate so much junk food that Mari was still sick to think about it, and even did some boy-trash talking before finally passing out for the evening. When she woke, Alya had disappeared to get a set of change in clothes from home but promised to be back to walk her to school. All day she kept a close eye on her and for that, Mari would be eternally thankful. Nino and Adrien had noticed something was wrong but every time Adrien went to ask, she made some flimsy excuse of being sick or not sleeping or needing to go to the restroom. It was horrible. She'd seen the look of hurt in his eyes when she did that. Really though, she just couldn't handle being near him; doing so was enough to squeeze her heart and throat and put fire back in her eyes until she started to cry again.

Marinette's heel caught on the front of her own heels. She bucked and fell with a cry to the floor. The music continued playing as she groaned, rolling over on to her back before placing a free arm over her eyes. This sucked.

Not only had today been tough sitting behind him in class, they started their professional ballroom dancing classes. The teacher had been a tiny, thin woman somewhere in her late twenties or early thirties named Madame Amelie. In the class of about forty students, she was dwarfed and timid in her personality which earned her some rude snickers from some of the other students in the room. She tried to call the students' attention to her but failed until Mr. Damocles stepped in. The room fell silent as she took over.

They were put into pairs according to height. Those of similar heights were asked to partner up until there were only a few "odd" people left. Alya, of course, grabbed for Nino and she saw a couple of people in the room instinctively go for their friends or people they had a crush on. She was pleased to see such pairs as Kim and Alix (both were adamant that they would be okay despite the height difference), Max and Sabrina, Rose and Juleka (they were an odd couple since there were more girls than guys), and Ivan and Mylène. This left her to dance with Nathaniel. He'd been timid with her and she remembered that at one point, the young artist had sported a crush on her. Her face paled realizing that she'd probably caused him a lot of pain when she eventually got to rejecting him after the Evillustrator incident. She was beginning to feel bad about it until Madame Amelie called for everyone's attention again. She introduced several things at once: hand positions, leading, body posture, and box step. She then had them practice each without any music. Nathaniel's face flushed just as red as his hair.

"Are you alright being my partner," he asked her. She smiled and nodded.

"Of course Nathaniel. I'm just going to apologize in advanced for the bruised feet you're going to have."

"It can't be that bad."

But it was. In the span of an hour, Marinette managed to step on his feet a total of thirty times, made them fall about eighteen times, and left him with a black and blue on his stomach after she accidentally punched him there on the way down one of those times. She felt even worse. Nathaniel though, had limped off smiling; telling her that it was alright and he still wanted to be her dance partner next week. She had to silently promise that she would be better by then.

Hence the reason why she currently was laying on the floor of an empty classroom.

Everyone else had left nearly thirty minutes earlier but she, seeking just a little peace and quiet, decided to stay and practice her box step and posture. The music from the left over CD player ended and she groaned again, sitting up to eventually get up.

Suddenly, there was a hand in her face. She shot her blue-bell eyes up to see the frowning face of Adrien Agreste. She blinked.

"Adrien. What're you doing here?"

"Last minute fencing practice," he replied, moving his hand a bit closer again. She hesitated but took it. Together, they pulled her up and she wobbled on her heels, but he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, which prevented her from falling again. She swallowed painfully.

"Thanks."

"Anytime." He paused. "Were you practicing for the Masquerade ball?"

"Yeah, yeah I was but it's not going so well." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm not exactly graceful on my feet." He smiled down at her reassuringly before giving her a gentle squeeze.

"I can teach you," he replied softly. She gasped and started to push away but she couldn't realistically do that without pulling both of them to the ground and once she realized this, Marinette chose to freeze instead. "Is… Is that alright? I'm pretty good at dancing and I can at least get you through the basics."

She just told Alya that she was going to give up on him. What happened to Ladybug's good luck? Marinette swallowed again but eventually croaked out, "P-please."

He smiled again and moved his hands to their proper places. He held out his left hand for her and she gently placed her right hand there; his other hand went around her to go on her shoulder blade which forced her free hand onto his shoulder. He nodded. "Good, you've got the basic hand placements. Raise your left elbow a bit. It has to remain at shoulder height. See? It makes you stand a little taller. Speaking of which, make sure you stand with your back straight. Be confident." He smiled as he saw her grow an inch or two in front of his eyes. Her eyes stayed focused on his chest and he cleared his throat to get her to look up. She did. "Keep your eyes up on your partner. Your feet will be moving but the floor's not going anywhere and if they're worth anything, they'll make sure you never even have to think about it." She nodded and kept her eyes up at him. Adrien almost forgot that he was supposed to be teaching. Two crystal clear eyes stared up at him and in them, he saw everything she was. Brave, confident, intelligent, and more than willing to be in his arms right now, determined to learn how to do this for herself and possibly for someone else too. It was his turn to gulp.

Giving her hand a squeeze, he continued on, "We're going to do the box step. In the waltz, the male usually leads. I'm going to move forward with my left foot so you'll need to step back with your right okay?" She nodded in understanding. "Good, then we'll be alternating feet until we've finished creating our box. Ready to try?"

"Yes," she breathed. Adrien started slowly, moving his left foot forward. Marinette moved with him. She counted under her breath, hoping that the numbers would help her keep up. He moved again, this time moving his right foot diagonally which brought their feet together. Then he started going backwards. This pulled Marinette along with him. She continued to count and as they successfully went through the steps several times, he began to speed it up to an actual waltz tempo.

Marinette grew more confident too. She managed to keep up with him and only stepped on his toes a few times as compared to earlier with Nathanial. Adrien assured her that she wasn't doing any damage and she would eventually learn to avoid stepping on his feet.

As their "song" came to an end, Adrien led her into a twist as they moved in the diagonal. She spun but lost her balance and landed on his chest. He grabbed her arms to keep her from going down again and a smile broke out across his face. "Good try Mari. You almost had that down."

"Not really." She eyed him and he realized he was still holding her so he let go, stepped back, and bowed. Apparently, it was enough or he looked ridiculous enough as he over did it (bowing so that his head was almost at waist level) that she finally, _finally_ giggled. He smiled and stood back up.

Her smile didn't dim as she returned the motion by curtsying, "Thank-you Adrien. I wasn't doing so well today."

"I noticed. I'm glad to see you're feeling a little better. You've been down all day." Her face paled. Had she really been that obvious that Mr. Oblivious himself noticed?

"Oh yeah well… you see… I," she stuttered. He tilted his head and watched her. She took a steadying breath and finished, "I was worried about the dancing classes today. I knew I was going to be bad; I just didn't realize how bad I was going to be."

She saw the doubt in his eyes but he was respectful enough to not push the situation. He stretched before moving to pick up his gym bag that he'd dropped at the door to save her. Mari went to her own bag to change her shoes. He waited for her at the door. "Same time next week?"

"What?"

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to meet up again next week? I know you're taking those professional classes but I wouldn't mind tutoring you if you need it. You did well today but a little more practice wouldn't hurt." She eyed him up and down.

"What about your schedule? I mean- everyone knows how busy you are. I mean, I would imagine seeing as you speak fluent Chinese, fence, model, and pass physics with a near perfect grade."

He waved off her concern. "It'll be alright. I'll, uh, check with Nathalie but I'm pretty sure I can get Wednesdays if you need them."

"Yes," she said a little too quickly, "I would like that." He nodded and hoisted his bag higher and motioned to the door.

"Great. So next Wednesday?"

"Next Wednesday." She gripped her bag closer to her. Her head spun.

Well, so much for giving up on him. She couldn't wait for the tongue lashing Alya was going to give her for her swinging emotions.


	5. Chapter 5 Special: Kwami Cuddles

**Author's note: Holiday special update number 2! Count this as an extra chapter. I wanted some Kwami cuddles so... here's the chapter! Be on the look out for two more chapters updating on 1/1/17! Happy New Year's everyone!**

 **Chapter 4 Special: Kwami Cuddles**

Plagg snored from inside Adrien's gym bag. He gasped as the bag hit the ground and he was roughly jostled inside the container. Mumbling angrily, he flew up and unzipped the top a bit to eye his chosen and get an explanation for the rough treatment only to see him helping the blue-haired girl up from the floor. He recognized her instantly. After all, one kwami could sense another and he always knew that Tikki was close. Imagine his great surprise when she finally called out to him during a particularly noisy science class when no one, even their chosen, could hear them. Plagg's little heart started beating rapidly. If she was here then….

He quickly moved from side to side in the bag, looking for where Tikki could be hiding. He spotted it in the way of a pink, white-polka dotted gym bag on the other side of the room. Both of the humans were too busy gazing rather lovingly at each other (ugh) that he simply flew from the bag over to hers. He hovered just above the top.

"Psst, Tikki," he whispered. The little red kwami, his other half, opened her bag slightly and motioned for him to come in. There was no hesitation as he did so. It was dark but thankfully, Marinette had left her phone which Tikki used as her light; Plagg would've been fine being a cat and all that. She smiled and leaned over to place a small peck on his cheek.

"Hello Plagg," she said politely. He basically melted.

He leaned his head so he could nuzzle her cheek just like a real cat and she giggled in response. A purr came from deep in his throat. Normally, the little black god was more stoic but when his partner, his other half, was near him, he simply turned into a puddle of affectionate black goo.

"It's been too long," he murmured, returning the peck on her cheek she'd given him earlier.

"When was the last time we saw each other?"

"WWII. Right after they…."

"Shhh. You don't have to talk about it. I was there. I remember." He cleared his throat.

"Yeah. It's been a while since we've been needed."

"It has."

"I missed you," he whispered, curling his tail around her. Tikki snuggled closer. A gentle smile broke out on her face.

"I missed you too." He sighed, getting very comfortable for the first time in a long time.

"When are they going to figure it out?"

"Hmmm?"

"Them. Our chosen. It's obvious yours likes mine. I can smell the hormones on her every time she gets near and now that foolish boy of mine is just realizing he has feelings for her and…."

"Oh Plagg. You know it's never that simple." He grunted and curled even closer around her. She leaned back into his side, relishing in the feeling of him near her again. They fell silent and listened for the sounds of their chosen. They wanted, in reality, to stay wrapped up there forever, rules of the Miraculous be damned. They couldn't though and they knew it. The magic that bound them was far too great to ignore even for gods; staying as they were and revealing their chosen to each other would go against those rules and cause all of them intense pain. Something they shuddered to relive. So for now, they would enjoy the moment. Plagg purred softly and Tikki nuzzled herself into his side. The glow of the cellphone casted an eerie blue light around their little sleeping place but neither saw it that way. Plagg, he loathed to think, found it to be romantic which is probably why she'd turned it on. It was warm and comfortable and he nearly drifted off to sleep again.

But minutes later, Tikki was gently nudging him awake. "Plagg, you have to go. They're almost done." He rubbed his eyes and muttered angrily. She giggled, giving him another peck on the cheek to get him moving. "Hey," she whispered, "give it a little longer. I'm sure we're going to be together again real soon."

"Right."

"Seriously you grump. It'll all work out in the end. Trust me."

He grumbled again but returned the peck before flying out, "I always trust you. Until next time."

"Until then." She waved him good-bye with a smile on her face, all the while thinking, that the bag was just a little bit colder.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes: This chapter was a mess. Enjoy! Happy New Year's everyone!**

 **Chapter 5**

Chat Noir balanced precariously on the edge of the Eiffel Tower, mocking himself as a tight-rope walker, both arms extended out to help keep him balanced. Ladybug sat some distance away, a furrow on her brow, and a frown on her lips. The evening was cool and pleasant for Paris in the fall. The amber glow of the lights below made the city sparkle like a sea of stars in reverse; she breathed in and brushed a stray bunch of hair out of her face as she looked out over the landscape. Normally, it made her feel better, but not tonight. Honestly, Ladybug was letting Marinette's problems invade her time. Two days ago, she'd promised herself and Alya that she was giving up on the model. She'd cleaned out her room of everything that was related to him: pictures, schedule, and computer background included. Then just yesterday, he'd wormed his way back into her affections, kindly noting that she was hurting more than she should have been and even offering to clear his schedule for her, _her_ not Ladybug, just to help her dance. She was so torn up about the situation. It was driving her crazy and possibly Tikki as well with all the whining and complaining and fretting she's done.

There was the hard sound of metal on metal as suddenly there was a shadow on her side. She looked up. Chat was standing over her, concern on his face, his brow knitted.

"Buginette, what's wrong?" She smiled and looked back over the city.

"Nothing Chat."

"Oh no, no, no, it's not nothing." He sat down next to her, his tail swishing back and forth along the metal beam. Ladybug refused to look at him. "But seriously. What's going on? I'm your partner. You can talk to me." She sighed.

"You're not going to leave me alone are you?"

"Absolutely not," he replied smugly.

She ran a hand over her face before finally saying, "Fine. There's this thing coming up for my school and they're wanting us to ballroom dance but outside this mask, I've got two left feet and I'm a danger to anyone who's going to be my dance partner and it's mandatory that everyone dances at least one waltz and what not."

Her life seemed to revolve around lies so one more wouldn't hurt anything.

Chat blinked. "That's it?"

"That's it."

He smiled mischievously and stood back up, offering her his hand. She hesitated but took it. He pulled her up before nodding to the platform a little bit higher up. "Meet me up there." She shrugged. Pulling off her yo-yo, she flung it skyward, catching on a higher beam before swinging herself around. She repeated this throw and catch several times before landing on the viewing platform with her partner. Chat's smile didn't dim as he put his baton behind his back. He bowed to her which threw her for a loop. "My lady, might I have this dance?" A stunned blink followed by a chuckle.

"And what do you know about ballroom dancing chatton?"

"Quite a bit actually." He winked. " _Waltz_ the matter? Don't trust me."

She rolled her eyes. "I do trust you and I think that's my problem half the time."

"My lady!" He chuckled with her before offering his hand. "Let me see how bad at dancing you supposedly are. I want to make sure that frown disappears from that lovely face."

"You've never seen my face," she countered, putting her hand in his. She hesitated at first, remembering the hand positions for the waltz, and she immediately straightened her back. Chat nodded.

"I've seen enough to know how beautiful you are and your positioning is good."

"Thanks. I have a good teacher."

"Oh? Someone I should be concerned with?"

She looked away. Chat had never made his feelings for her secret even though he technically hadn't said anything to her. She was pretty sure he tried on Valentine's Day but then Dark Cupid got in the way and by the time everything was back to normal, she'd already secretly kissed him and used Miraculous Ladybug. There was no way she was hanging around for him to finish what he started.

"No, just a friend," she muttered. He frowned, not finding her words to be heartfelt. He squeezed her right hand, pulling it to his mouth to place a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

"Well, if this friend of yours can't live up to your standards, I could always be your teacher."

"Say that after you dance with me."

"That I will then." He moved their hands back into the proper position. In the back of his mind, Chat felt that this situation felt oddly familiar.

Dancing was a very intimate situation. Two people, strangers mostly, suddenly became temporary lovers as they twirled on the floor. He had learned a long time ago, after being forced to dance with multiple young women per his father's orders, that dancing could reveal a lot about a person and at this moment, Chat Noir was remembering that lesson all too well. The fact was, he was having déjà vu as he held Ladybug close and stepped forward into the box step. She counted under her breath and he nearly shook his head. The scene was all too familiar.

So familiar in fact, that the realization wormed its way slowly into his mind's eye before it came crashing down like a wave.

As they danced across the platform of the Eiffel Tower, Chat closed his eyes and instantly, the picture of a young, blue-haired woman in unsteady high heels, pink work out pants, and a white tank top flooded his vision. He also saw her smile and the way she had flirted with him several days ago. She was the only person in the world who would feel like this; tucked in close under him, smelling of flour and sugar, holding his shoulder so delicately as if she would break him, her other squeezed tightly in his, and, goodness, the pigtails! How in the world did he miss the pigtails she always wore? And those "coincidences" from their shopping trip? God he was an idiot!

Finally, he steeled himself and thought the words he had been trying to ignore for the last three days.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

It was dizzying. His head felt clearer than it had ever felt; as if a curtain over his eyes had been removed and he breathed deeply to steady himself from passing out or even worse, kissing her out of the blue.

"Chatton? Are you okay?" He opened his eyes, staring into the crystal blue eyes of Ladybug. Of course the blues would match and as often as he stared into her eyes, he should have figured this out a long time ago. She smirked at him. "Is my dancing that bad it put you to sleep?"

He swallowed, his heart beginning to beat out of control, "Only in your nightmares my lady. You're dancing rather excellently."

"I forgot. Your suit has steel-toed boots. You can't feel me stepping on them."

"Even if you were hurting me, I'm sure your small frame wouldn't do that much damage." He smirked but earned a glare from her.

"Sorry for being small," she growled.

"Don't be. We wouldn't be able to dance this well if you were tall."

"Like you?"

"I walked into that one uh?"

"Yeah you did."

"Well I'm _feline_ like our song is at an end. Do you know how to spin?"

She blinked. "S-spin?" He smirked, knowing full well she didn't, before leading her into it. Ladybug started out strong before she tripped over her own two feet and fell into him. He laughed. She glared, again, before pushing herself away from him. "Are you done making fun of me yet?" He could see a fierce blush under her mask even as she looked away in an attempt to hide it.

"I wouldn't dream of making fun of you my lady," he finally breathed. She stuck her tongue out at him and pulled her yo-yo off her hip. She started to take off but he reached out, grabbing her wrist. "Ladybug, seriously, have more faith in your dancing. You did really well. _Purr_ -omise. Cat's honor." She hesitated but smiled.

"Thank-you Chat."

This time, he didn't stop her as she took off from the tower, leaving him leaning against the guard-fence as he watched her soar over the Paris skyline until she was out of sight.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh man. I think I'm in trouble."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes: This is the last of the holiday update! As a side note, I need to sadly let everyone know that after today, chapters will be updating, one, maybe two, once a week. Saturdays are looking like that day right now. I'm going back to work Monday and with the end of the semester happening all next week, I know I'm going to be busy. So, Happy New Year's everyone. Enjoy! (P.S.- Sorry this chapter's so short. It just felt awkward to end it anywhere else but there).**

 **Chapter 6**

"I don't know Tikki. Chat was acting strange after we started dancing." Marinette pulled a pin from the pin cushion strapped to her wrist and she used it to place the skirt of Alya's dress in place. She'd managed to make a couple of hours of free time over the last couple of days to work on it and after measuring, cutting, and now pinning, she was getting ready to sew which she estimated would take her two, maybe three days, at most to finish on this dress. Then, she would have nearly a month to get her own dress which was certainly going to take that much time to get done. Alya's was a well-fitting, halter top piece, with rhinestones embroidering the neck and waistlines before flaring out a bit near the bottom. Mari was just glad they weren't required to all wear princess-style dresses or more historically accurate based dresses. Tikki, who sat on her desk watching, munched on another cookie.

"Maybe he figured out who you are."

Mari jerked, stabbing herself with another pin. She yelped and stuck the injured digit in her mouth immediately. Tikki smiled apologetically.

"There's no way he could have figured that out! What would have given me away? I haven't done anything different than normal." Other than act like a moody, hormonal teenager instead of a superhero even though she rationally knew she was both and allowed to act like that from time to time.

"Maybe he figured it out from your dancing?"

She stood and went to her desk to retrieve a Band-Aid for her finger. As she wrapped it, she asked, "How would that reveal who I am?"

"Oh Marinette, dancing is an intimate act. Two people have to get rather close and trust in each other if even it's for a short moment. Besides, no two people dance the same. It would be easy for him to figure it out if he's dance with you in the past…."

"But that's not possible. I have literally danced with two people: Nathaniel and Adrien and neither of them have Chat's personality!" Tikki shrugged and went back to her cookie. While she realistically couldn't say anything about Adrien being Chat Noir, at least she now knew that the seed of doubt was planted and all it needed was a little bit of watering. Marinette returned to the dress she was working, pondering what Tikki had said. There would be no way that dancing alone would have revealed herself to Chat Noir.

Could it?

"Girl you look horrible." Marinette yawned into her hand.

"I didn't sleep well last night," she said with a small smile. She'd made some distance on Alya's dress and that put her in bed at a relatively decent hour; it was the idea of Chat Noir knowing her identity that kept her up for hours after that. What if he _did_ know? Would dancing with him really have given him that much information? Would he really have trusted a single time dancing with Ladybug to figure it out? If so, then what would he have compared it too? The only two people who she's ever danced with were Nathaniel and Adrien but neither of them seemed to fit his personality. It was these questions running in circles around in her mind until it was two in the morning and sleep seemed like a far off dream.

She leaned her head down on her desk. A soft groan escaped her throat and Alya rubbed a reassuring hand on her shoulders. A shadow crossed her face. Looking up out of the eye not facing the desk, she found Adrien looking down on her, worry in his eyes; she gasped and nearly went falling to the floor.

"Are you alright Marinette," he asked. Alya blinked and decided that it was best that she stay quiet, turning to Nino instead as she secretly pulled her phone out and set it up to take some photos as the exchange went down.

"I-I'm fine," she breathed. If Alya couldn't know, neither could Adrien.

 _Especially since he could be Chat Noir_.

Marinette shook her hand, forced a smile, and waved a hand at him. "Yeah. I'm fine. Stayed up late working on Alya's dress is all. Completely forgot about the Literature homework for today too so that didn't help. Plus physics was really tough. It took me a while to complete since I couldn't figure out how to do the formula even though we went over it yesterday in class…." She was rambling. It was better than looking like death and giving him any more material to go off and confirm she was Ladybug- given he was Chat Noir of course. Adrien didn't say anything. He just looked at her with a mildly surprised expression. She blushed scarlet and looked away, missing the wide eyes that he gave her. Suddenly, his faced turned scarlet too and he turned to sit down, mumbling, "I'm glad you're alright."

She blinked dumbly at him. Alya and Nino's jaws hit the floor. Before class could begin, Alya nudged her in the side and slid her a piece of paper- **Girl, what was that?! Did Adrien just look embarrassed to talk to you?**

Mari shrugged. **I don't know** , she returned, **Maybe he's not feeling well or something.**

 **Doubt it.**

 **Alya, we've been over this. I'm giving up remember?**

 **Right. Not with that star crossed look the two of you just gave each other.**

Marinette rolled her eyes and shook her head. The other girl had a point though. Try as she might in the last couple of days, this was one crush that wasn't going to be crushed so easily.

Then an idea struck her like a bolt of lightning.

If Chat really did know who she was… why didn't she try falling in love with him?


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Yeah about that Sunday update thing, I did it a little early. There's still going to be a chapter on Sunday but I got sick today and got sent home early from work and now I don't even know if I can make it in tomorrow so there might be another update tomorrow too. We'll see. Anyway, I curled up once I got home and comfortable and started writing. Two and half chapters later, here we are. This is my Marichat trash chapter. I've got some plans for these two in upcoming chapters so I hope everyone enjoys!**

 **Chapter 8**

"Marinette, this isn't going to work."

"But…."

"Did you even consider the _consequences_ of doing something like this?"

"Yes but…."

"I mean seriously? You're going to break that boy's heart!"

Marinette reached up and cupped Tikki in her hands, pulling her down so that they were at eye level. The little kwami was glowing red, something she had learned some time ago meant that she was angry; it rarely happened but when it did, it was terrifying to witness. Tikki knew she was being contradictory. Yes, she wanted the two of them to get together for her own-selfish reasons but she really hadn't expected her chosen to do this! Falling in love with Chat Noir. She was setting herself up to have her heart broken or worse- doing it to him. Mari smiled softly at her.

"Can I please explain why I'm doing it?" Tikki buzzed red before flying off and hovering in the corner of the room. Mari shrugged and repeated something that at one time, helped her, "Okay, if that makes you feel better. You don't have to say anything, I- I just need to explain.

"I know you're not happy with my decision. I wouldn't be either in your place but please, look at it from my point of view. Chat Noir knows who I am. I have no idea who he is and I've got two possibilities. Now, I could inquire into both of them but that would take too long and I may never figure it out. Chat's… well, Chat's more straight forward." She snuggled down deeper into the mattress on her bed. Pulling her oversized cat pillow to her, she wrapped it around her middle and hugged it close. For warmth, comfort, an anchor point, whatever. "There's no guess work with Chat. Besides, if I hang out with him enough, maybe I'll figure out who is just like he figured out who I am. It'll all work out. I promise Tikki. I- I won't hurt him. I'll hurt myself first before I do anything to him." The little red fairy's shoulders dropped. She turned, her eyes slightly sad, but she forced out a smile. "I'm sorry Tikki. I know this isn't the most ideal way about doing this but I really don't want to have to chase down two boys, potentially get it wrong, and screw things up far worse." She flew back down and landed on the cat pillow.

"Oh Marinette. I'm sure whatever you decide to do, it'll all work out in the end. I have that much faith in you." She paused. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you. It just took me by surprise is all." Marinette smiled back and brought Tikki up to her face to gently kiss her forehead.

"It's alright. I could've done that a lot better." Both of them giggled. Mari sighed and stretched, placing Tikki on the bed next to her. She snuggled in for the night. "I'm going to go practice dancing."

"Don't stay up too late," she yawned.

The night was cooler than it had been in the previous week but the skies were clear and a large, pearl colored moon shone down on her balcony. She lit a couple of candles on the tiny table she'd placed up there for evenings of reading or studying with Alya when her room got too uncomfortable to be in. Now, everything was pushed kind of out of the way to make it a temporary practice room. The odd shape of her room made it difficult to practice there. She breathed in deeply and while she stood at the table, lighting the candles, she turned on her phone to play a waltz song from the Internet. It started softly. Mari closed her eyes a bit and swayed with it before raising her arms, remembering the lesson Adrien had given her several days ago, and the dance she'd shared with Chat only a day ago, before entering the box step. She kept her back straight, elbows raised, and she imagined staring up, not into the bright green of Adrien Agreste's eyes, but the black masked ones of Chat Noir. She didn't feel anything. No heat, no rush, no dizzying feeling of elation. Really, after the way she'd treated him as Ladybug, she was amazed the boy had any kind of feelings for her in the first place. She flinched. The motion though was enough to throw her off and send her tumbling down to the ground- again.

However, a set of hands grabbed her around the waist and gently pulled her back. Instead of hitting the ground with a thud, she landed into a leather clad chest.

She blinked. Tilting her head back, she looked up into the smiling face of the boy she'd just been thinking about. "Chat Noir!"

"Hello purrincess," he smiled. He helped to steady her before releasing her. "I was out on patrol when I heard the lovely sound of music and I thought I'd come investigate and what do I find but a damsel in distress?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was not in distress." She brushed her bangs out of her face. "Okay, maybe I was a little distressed."

"You did well until you stopped focusing."

"Uh? Oh, you-you saw that." He smiled, leaning back on her railing, his tail swishing back and forth. She came over to join him, only she faced out over the horizon. "I'm trying. You know about Dupont's Masquerade ball? It's not for another four weeks but I don't want to wait until the last minute to get it right considering I'm so uncoordinated and dangerous to everyone around me." He eyed her.

"You? Dangerous? With that size?" He laughed as she slugged him in the arm.

"Ha-ha. Thanks for pointing out I'm small." They fell silent. The longer it went, the more Marinette came to realize that not everything was alright. Chat fidgeted nervously. After a few moments, she sighed and asked, "Chat, what's wrong?" It was his turn to flinch only he wasn't dancing so there was no danger in falling.

"Purrincess?"

"I asked what's wrong." She smirked knowingly at him. "You're fidgeting quite a bit there." He waved her off.

"Nothing's wrong! I'm- I'm just a little sore is all." She eyed him, knew he was lying, but decided to let it go. It was a game after all and she couldn't reveal her hand just yet; it would be a horrible move to reveal that she knew that he knew who she really was and if she wanted operation Learn-to-love-Chat-Noir to go off without a hitch, she needed to first interact with him honestly as Marinette and _not_ Ladybug.

Chat looked away as he contemplated what he should do. Marinette is Ladybug. He could easily reveal himself, drop to one knee, and confess his undying love for her right there before the moon and the night sky of Paris but for some reason, that didn't seem like a good idea. After all, Marinette didn't act, well, like Marinette around Chat Noir. For all he knew, the instant he revealed himself as Adrien Agreste, she would instantly throw him off this balcony and never have anything else to do with him. It was bad enough they had the gum incident as their greeting back at the beginning of the previous year. He was pretty sure she still hated him for that too. Then in the last three days, she'd been acting weird; colder than normal and distant. Very distant. He wasn't sure what had happen since their outing on Tuesday but he wanted it to go away so he could see the girl that had given him one of the happiest days he'd ever experienced.

Plagg was right. He was an idiot. Especially since it had taken him so long to realize that he truly did like her.

A gentle hand on his shoulder shook him and he blinked, coming out of his thoughts. He turned to face her. Marinette stared up at him, her brow furrowed. "Seriously Chat. What's wrong?"

He waved again. "Nothing. Just a little tired is all."

"You're not going to tell me are you?"

"There's nothing to tell."

She shrugged. "Suit yourself." She pushed back off of the railing and moved back into the middle of her balcony. A quick turn put her back to facing him and she smirked, reaching out a hand to him. "Want to practice with me then? It'll help… wake you up a bit." His heart started pounding. A shaky gloved hand reached out and gently took hers in I, pulling him closer to her than he knew how to handle. A fierce blush raged under his mask. He had to turn his head a bit. Marinette only continued to smile up at him as she put her hands in the proper positions. This time, there wasn't any hesitation. She was confident and knew where to place them and she trusted him inexplicably. A new song started on her phone. He instantly found the rhythm (waltzing was fun like that) and he pulled her into it. She started out counting under her breath but the longer they went, the quieter she got until she no longer was counting out loud. She looked up at him excitedly. "I-I'm doing it."

"Good job. You must have been practicing a lot. Trying to really become a princess?"

"Being a princess is overrated. I'm working towards not killing anyone. If you make another quip about me being small, I will throw you off this balcony." He chuckled.

"I could imagine the Ladyblog post now. _Local girl destroys superhero by throwing him off her balcony_."

"I thought cats always landed on their feet." She bit her lip, realizing she probably just goofed. How very Ladybug of her to say. Chat eyed her. They moved to her left in their dance but he didn't say anything about it.

They stayed silent after that. All she could hear was the sound of their feet landing on the wood. Her eyes started to wander but he coughed, reminding her to not remove them from him. She jerked her head back up and wanted to faint at the sight. There was no way he didn't know she was Ladybug. He eyed her so tenderly that she wondered if this was a dream. She bit her bottom lip, her heart fluttering for the first time towards him, but she didn't even think of removing her eyes again.

His face twisted then into something mischievous. The sparkle in his eyes was not good and Marinette tensed, bracing herself for whatever he had planned. She had a tiny inkling to what it was going to be and she was one hundred percent correct as he pulled his arm out, held it higher, and essentially forced her to spin. She braced for the fall but surprisingly, since she actually had a second to prepare for it, she managed it, coming back in with a goofy grin on her face. "I-I spun." He nodded. She blinked and got even more excited, "I spun!" She jumped up suddenly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Chat Noir was coordinated but this took him by surprise. He fell to the ground with an –oomph- but wrapped his arms around her waist so she wouldn't get injured in the process. Marinette pulled back. She was in between Chat's legs, her face awfully close to his, and her arms still around his neck. Both of them turned the same shade of red. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and there but knew that wasn't alright. They instantly jerked away, mumbling apologies. Marinette cleared her throat. "Thank-you Chat. I finally managed to spin. I've been trying to figure it out since a couple of days ago when my-my friend first showed it to me."

"I'm glad you got it." Now it was her turn to fidget before looking back at him, "Um Chat? C-can I ask you to do me a favor?"

"For you princess, anything." She reached up, stroking her left pigtail, eyes averted again. Her heart was pounding even louder now. But she was determined to make her plan work, so she asked, "Couldyouhelpmepracticefortheball?" Chat blinked. He reached up and rubbed his ears.

"Sorry but I don't think I heard you right. You want me to what?"

She turned away this time, her face completely red, "I asked if you couldhelpmepracticefortheball." Chat moved forward so that his face was close to her neck even though she continued to face away.

"You're going to have to speak slower," His breath was hot on her neck and she tensed, the red spreading all the way down. She squeaked. He found it to be absolutely adorable. "I know I'm a superhero but even I have a hard time understanding when you speak so quickly." She took a steadying breath. _Ladybug. Channel Ladybug. This is Chat, the kind, goofy, sweet boy who happens to know you're Ladybug and has a crush on you. How would Ladybug handle this?_

Marinette turned so that they were essentially nose to nose and she smirked alluringly at him. Chat's eyes went wide again. He swallowed painfully, realizing that she was accelerating their little game, if that's what you could call it, and pulling out the stops on him. "I asked if you could help me practice for the ball," she repeated slowly, her voice barely more than a husky whisper. He nodded dumbly. She reached up and playfully poked his nose with a finger before backing up and standing. "Thank-you Chat." They heard movement below followed by her mother calling out, "Marinette?" She motioned for him to be quiet before going to the hatch.

"Yes Mama!"

"Marinette, what in the world are you still doing up? Just because it's the weekend doesn't mean you need to stay up late."

"I-I was practicing for the ball and lost track of time," she quickly waved to him to go. He smirked and nodded before pulling off his baton, ready. "I'm going to bed now. Night!"

"Good night." They waited until they heard the other hatch close.

"Guess that's my cue to go," he mumbled. She nodded.

"Yes." He paused before facing her one more time.

"Marinette? When do you want me to come back?"

She thought for a second, "Can you come back on Monday?"

"It's a date then," he confirmed before leaping off. Both of their faces were scarlet. _A date?!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I'm still not strong enough to stand up but thankfully, the pain is subsiding which means I'll probably be back at work tomorrow. Not that I'm complaining, I actually was looking forward to be there all this week but oh well. That's life. So since I was stuck at home again, what better way than to eat my Sunday update words again than through another update? Enjoy! (P.S. Sorry this is focusing so much on Marichat right now. I promise that it's going to switch to the another part of the love square soon).**

 **Chapter 9**

Plagg rolled his eyes as Adrien paced the floor in front of his window, hand over his mouth, face still scarlet. A date? Why had he called it a date? Was it creepy to call it that when Marinette had no idea that he knew she was Ladybug? A groan of frustration left his throat. He collapsed on his couch, staring up at the ceiling. All he saw in his mind were two brilliant blue eyes, framed ever so delicately by milky white skin, topped with dark, raven hair. Heat rushed through his body. Plagg gagged.

"Oh please. Your hormones smell worse than my cheese." Adrien shot him a glare. "Look, if you like the girl so much, why don't you just confess to knowing who she is and reveal yourself? Happily ever after."

"Sure, let me just waltz up to Marinette and go, 'Hey by the way, I happen to know you're Ladybug, who I have a massive crush on, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind being my date to the Masquerade ball so I can at least say I danced with Ladybug at least once officially before dying.' I'm sure that'll go over well." The little black kwami shrugged.

"Sounds about right."

"You're absolutely no help when it comes to love."

"I'm the God of Destruction. Love's not my thing. Sue me. That's Tikki's job." Adrien tilted his head.

"Tikki?"

"Ladybug's kwami. What? You thought I was the only one?" Adrien looked a little abashed.

"I guess that makes sense." He stood from his couch, moving to his computer screens where he pulled up the Ladyblog. Alya had recently updated it with candid photos of Ladybug and Chat Noir leaping through the night sky of Paris, off to make sure all was right with the world. That was before they started dancing on the viewing platform the other night. That was before he was able to tell that two amazing and beautiful women were actually just one. His heart fluttered again. The picture stirred his emotions. He wanted nothing more than to fly back to her side and stay there. The words he'd said in parting came rushing back to him, turning his face red once more, and it made him so tense that he just dropped his head to the desk.

The pain didn't rid his mind of his thoughts.

Plagg eyed him, working on his third piece of cheese for the evening. "Alright, so revealing yourself isn't going to be that easy. What're you going to do?"

"Lose my mind," he mumbled from the table. Large, green eyes rolled at his human's over-dramatic nature. "Honestly, I have no idea. Telling her straight out won't go well. Flirting with her suddenly as Adrien will seem suspicious to everyone around her."

"Then why don't you make her fall in love with Chat Noir?" Adrien blinked, shooting his head up, to eye his friend.

"What?"

"I said: Make. Her. Fall. For. Chat. Noir," he enunciated before swallowing his fourth piece of cheese. Adrien grimaced. He would never understand how or why his partner enjoyed the smell or taste of camembert or how he managed to stay so small with the amount he ate. "Think about it. If she falls in love with you in that mask, there's no way she won't fall in love with the civilian."

"Yeah but she isn't particularly fond of me now is she?"

Plagg wanted to scream and throw his cheese at the idiot's head. Fond of you? _Fond of you?_ The damn girl loses her mind every time she's around you. Of course she's fond of you you oblivious idiot! Instead, he shrugged, "I mean, it worked for you right?"

This caused Adrien to pause. Plagg was right. When he had first met Ladybug and seen how awesome she was, he promised himself and the sky and whatever else was listening, that he would love the girl behind the mask no matter who it turned out to be (yes, Chloé included). He had fallen in love with the hero first. Now he wanted to focus solely on the civilian. Why wouldn't it work on Marinette? He swallowed painfully. "What should I do?"

"For starters, not start losing your mind over it." Plagg flew up and landed on Adrien's head. This forced him to nearly go cross-eyed as he finished with, "Just be yourself. Don't try to force anything. Forced isn't real and a relationship built on unrealistic things won't last and will only break both of you."

"I won't," he breathed, "I won't hurt her. I'll hurt myself before I hurt her." Plagg took off again, this time heading for a dark nook somewhere to sleep.

"Whatever. Do what you will Romeo. I'm going to sleep. Night." He disappeared into his hiding place. Adrien grumbled but turned back to his computer. He stared at the screen for a minute more before deciding that sleep would do better for his worry rather than him stressing over it so he turned the computer off, stood, changed, and flopped onto his bed, where darkness came to him almost instantly.

Monday came rather quickly. Alya noticed that Marinette was fidgeting in her seat more than usual, doodling more than usual, and essentially being more _nervous_ than usual. She narrowed her eyes at the half-Chinese girl. Ms. Mendeleiev eyed the room suspiciously herself, watching for any talkers or anyone not paying a bit of attention, and only quick foot taps from Alya, managed to save the girl from a fate worse than death at the hands of their sharp-featured teacher. When they finally were dismissed for the day, Alya wasted no time in grabbing her hand. Marinette looked up shocked but before she could protest, Alya dragged her from the room and outside to a secluded bench in the nearby park. In total, Mari almost tripped about three times.

Alya pushed her down onto the bench. She crossed her arms, cocked her hip, and finally said, "Alright girl. Spill. What's got you so edgy today?"

The dark haired girl blinked. "W-wh-what…."

"Cut. Wrong answer." Marinette flinched and immediately looked abashed. "I know something's going on so you either tell me willingly here or I find out for myself and make your life very difficult afterwards. Spill." The newswoman tapped her foot waiting. Mari looked down at her hands tucked between her legs and breathed deep before saying, "I… um… well, I have a … a date… tonight…." Alya squealed. She lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her neck which sent them sideways onto the bench. It didn't last long. Alya sat up excitedly.

"O-m-gee Mari! A date! Why didn't you tell me? Who's the mystery boy? What are you wearing? What time is he coming to get you?"

Mari raised a hand to stop her friend. It worked because now Alya sat there, hands at her sides, eyes wide, and _vibrating_. It would only be a matter of time before she exploded again so she told her quickly, "He's a friend of mine I've known for a while. I've had a feeling he's liked me for some time but I only just started to develop feelings for him because of the whole Adrien thing. He's funny and witty and kind and really I can't do him justice in words alone." She paused long enough to take a breath. "Look, I didn't tell you because I don't actually know if this is going to work between us and I didn't want you to get your hopes up for me like you did with Adrien. I want to establish this relationship on my own terms. So, until I'm sure this is going to work, that's all you get to know." Alya pouted but she respected her friend's wish and kept her nosy questions to herself. Instead, she reached out and wrapped the girl in another hug.

"I'm so proud of you Mari." She held her out at arm's length, her eyes shining with mischief. "But you best believe come tomorrow, we're playing twenty questions again and I'm going to want every single detail." Mari smiled and nodded.

"Thanks Alya." She reached into her purse and pulled out a couple of macaroons her father had given her that morning and they ate them in celebration of Mari's wonderful night to come. As she chewed slowly, she finally said, "I really hope this works. He's a good guy."

"Well, don't be upset if it doesn't," Alya advised. "But what are you doing to _make_ him fall for you?"

"I… okay, I haven't thought that far ahead," she sighed. "I guess that's part of why I'm nervous for tonight. What if I prove myself to be a total dorkasaurus and mess things up with him? I could lose not only his love but his friendship too and… well, I don't think I'm strong enough to lose both of them at the same time!"

Alya patted her hand. She smiled at Mari, before stating, "Take it easy girl. You're going to be alright. Let's start by thinking about what he likes."

"How is that going to help?"

"Girl, figure out what he likes, use it to your power, and it'll lead him straight into your palm." Marinette bit her bottom lip, contemplating what she just said.

"Well… I know he likes… cats… and the quiches my parents make…." _And chin and ear scratches and cuddling and apparently teasing me._

"Great. That's a start. Do you have any clothing that is cat-esque?"

"Yeah, a black hoodie with some cat ears."

"Wear that when he shows up. Also, make sure you have some quiches around as a snack. Oh, and wear your matching bra and underwear set." Marinette's face turned red.

"W-what?!"

"Wear the matching bra and underwear." Alya leaned back on the bench, a smug smirk on the face, "Girl, you are in charge tonight. Even if you two don't do anything, just preparing for it means you'll be large and in charge the whole time. You'll have him eating out of your hands before your date ends."

"Really?"

"How do you think I hooked Nino?" Alya laughed as her friend looked disgusted and shot her a wink before standing up. "We better head back. Class is going to start back soon. I'll swing by your place after school today to help set everything up."

"Thanks Alya." She paused. "Um, there's just one thing. My parents don't know he's coming by. He won't be there until after they go to bed so…."

"Ooooh look at you," she elbowed the girl, "You really are trying to get with this guy. Alright. Mum's the word. I won't say a thing. Promise." Marinette relaxed and then hugged her tightly around the neck, both of them giggling suspiciously as they returned to class, earning a scared and confused look from both Nino and Adrien. They then refused to share anything they talked about with either boy. When they were finally released for the day, Alya grabbed Marinette's hand and they left with quick good-byes to them and again, the boys shared a concerned look. Adrien silently hope that whatever they were giggling about had nothing to do with him. Well, Chat Noir at least. He didn't know if Marinette would tell her best friend about their upcoming- uh- _date_ but he also wouldn't put it past her to find out one way or another.

Maybe it would be best to be on his guard tonight.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Whatever. I'm possibly snowed in for the next three days. Have a chapter. More are coming of course since I'm going to have to fight off cabin fever. *Tosses out the chapter and waits for the complaints to roll in.***

 **Chapter 10**

"Girl, you are going to knock this mystery boy out of his socks."

Marinette sat in her rolling chair, tugging on the sides of her hood. She was wearing the black cat-esque hoodie she'd purchased some time before Chat Noir was even a superhero but if he didn't know that, she could just play off being a major fan. The ears sat nicely on either side of her head, two black pieces of cloth with tiny pink triangles. The sleeves were a little long, flopping over her hands, which was all part of the design considering that there were patterned paw-prints on the inside and a hole just large enough to slip her thumbs in and give herself "paws." She swallowed nervously. "Do you think this will work?"

Alya folded her jacket over her arm and grabbed her purse. "Did you wear the matching bra and underwear?" Mari's face flamed. She nodded. Alya gave her a thumbs up. "Then yes. Yes it will work." She looked at her phone and let out a hiss. "I gotta go. Mom's got me on baby-sitting duty tonight. Text me with updates!"

Marinette waved her best friend off. Tikki came out then, sitting down on the desk with a cookie from her secret stash. She decided to keep herself busy for a bit by finalizing the sketch design of her dress; Alya's was already finished since she'd spent a majority of her Sunday getting it done. The other girl had been thrilled when she'd called and had come immediately to try it on and take it home to show her parents and boyfriend. Tikki eyed the notebook. She made a bold line going down the outside of the skirt. The dress was pretty simple in design compared to say the bejeweling she'd done on Alya's. It was an A-line princess style with the top being a silk pink, sweet-heart corset design, a belt of silver between it and the skirt, which flared out almost immediately into a wide circle before touching the floor. It was made of sheer pink and silver fabric. It would not only flow as she twirled on the dance floor, but it would sparkle as well. She held up her notebook for the kwami to see.

"What do you think?"

"It's beautiful Marinette!" She giggled and turned it back around to face herself.

"Thanks. I was thinking of wearing some simple glass costume jewelry with it. Diamond like ones. Maybe a wristlet, necklace, and oh, Mama can curl my hair and I can do an accent piece to hold it up."

"You really put a lot of thought into this didn't you?"

"I did." She paused. "Now that I think about it, I almost forgot about earrings. Don't worry," she added before cutting her off, "I'm not taking off these earrings. I'll just use my hair to cover them so no one will be the wiser." Tikki let out a sigh of relief. Marinette rubbed her forehead assuringly. "I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."

"I'm glad," the kwami beamed. "You really are perfect to be Ladybug."

"Thanks."

A soft knock from above interrupted them and both looked up to see a gloved hand tapping lightly on her hatch. Tikki smiled, whispered a few words of encouragement, before disappearing, even though it probably wasn't necessary because of what they suspected he knew. Marinette took a steadying breath. She climbed up to the outdoor hatch before joining him outside.

The sun had set a couple of hours ago and once more Paris sparkled with life. It was a gentle glow that came from below but she could still see the distant orange haze of most of the city and the Eiffel Tower lit to its brightest at night. The air was much cooler than it had been the previous week. She was glad she'd allowed Alya to talk her into wearing the hoody; it shielded her enough against the gentle breeze that danced over them.

Chat Noir smiled. His mouth dropped when he realized what she was wearing and she silently thanked Alya for the advice. She could visibly seem him swallow nervously and wring his hands behind his back. A seductive smile crossed her lips, "Good evening Chaton." She sauntered over to him, tugging lightly on the sides of her hood. _I'm in charge. Marinette is in charge. This is going to work. Chat Noir is going to fall so hard for you. You wore the matching bra and underwear for this exact reason._

He knew that this was part of what she'd been laughing about early in the day. He knew this. Yet his best to guard against it, to come prepared with his own plan, was immediately destroyed by the adorable, nearly-sexy way she came at him.

She was going to be in charge and he didn't care.

"Good evening purrincess," he breathed. He pulled his hand from behind him where he'd been hiding a small bouquet of flowers. "For you." She took them, breathing deeply. Looking up at him, she cast him a bright smile, clutching the bottom of the pink roses.

"They're lovely Chat!" He rubbed the back of his neck. He adverted his eyes as a light blush appeared under his mask. If this was being led by the nose, then he was happy to be.

"You're welcomed."

Marinette placed the roses on her table. She had a small CD player already there, something Alya helped prepare beforehand, and she hit play, allowing the waltz music to start softly. Chat smiled, offering his hand this time. She accepted it. As he had last week, he pulled her closer, before leading her into the dance. Both of their confidence levels soared. Marinette smiled knowing that he was there for her, her not Ladybug, and that she had managed to gain some powers over his emotions prior to their dance. Chat relished in the feel of her. She fit against him like a puzzle piece; everything was perfect and he was constantly assaulted by the smell of sweetness that came off of her even though she was still mostly covered by the hoodie. He lead her into a couple of spins. She smiled confidently each time. As she did, she could see Chat, wearing a tuxedo instead of his suit, smiling at her in return, and her in her dress, twirling magnificently each time; all eyes would be on them of course because it would be hard for anyone to miss how perfect they were together. It amazed her that she'd missed it for so long. He pulled her back in and continued to the right.

At one point, he silently reached up and pushed the hood off of her head, allowing the gentle breeze to cool her face and brush her hair a little bit forward. She had it down to accommodate the hood. His face blushed again. She'd never worn her hair down in front of him before; ever since he'd met her, it had always been pigtails. She chuckled at his expression.

"What's wrong Chaton? Cat got your tongue?" He grimaced.

"Waltz the matter is your paws-itively horrible pun." A gentle gloved finger reached up as they continued to move to brush some of her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. Mari's face heated up a bit as well. "I've never seen you with your hair down before. You always have it in pigtails."

"My mom's doing. She started putting me in pigtails when I was younger. We tried a couple of other hairstyles along the way but pigtails were just easier to do so, I kept them."

"You should do the other ones. I'd love to see them." She smirked up at him.

"Be careful Chat. You might accidently give yourself away if I start making changes." He swallowed. She didn't need to explain. Adrien was going to lose his shit if Mari showed up with a new hairstyle and automatically rat himself out. At that point, he would be pretty sure that he'd say to hell with the rules, and kiss her furiously, even if it resulted in a slap or worse. The first song came to an end and they stopped with it. Chat bowed to her while she curtseyed. Another song started but Mari stopped him from taking her in another dance. "I know I need to build my stamina but let's have a snack first. Wait right here." She turned and went back to her room. She and Alya had stashed a cooler there with two quiches inside of it which she now pulled out. Tikki shot her a smile before she disappeared outside again. Chat helped her up this time. He cleared her hands and sat the food on the table, his mouth watering instantly. She chuckled at his expression, motioning to a seat. He wasted no time in sitting and picking one up to shove in his mouth. He nearly purred.

"My Lady, you know me so well! These are my favorite!" Both of them flinched and Chat appropriately looked abashed. "Ah- I guess the cat's out of the bag now." Marinette sighed but smiled softly at him.

"I already knew Chat." He blinked.

"You- you knew?"

"Yeah. I kinda figured it out after you- well, after you started acting weird when we danced on the viewing platform." He flinched again. His ears drooped and he looked like a genuinely sad kitten.

"I'm sorry Mari. I…."

She laughed. Reaching out a hand, she ruffled his hair, scratched an ear, before leaning back in her seat. He blushed scarlet. Staring at her offered him no answer for her sudden behavior. Mari pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around them, and tucked her chin onto her knees. She looked off into the distance as she said, "I'm not… I'm not mad Chat. I know why you started talking to me. As Ladybug, I was really… not distant but professional? Yeah, professional. I pushed you away a lot for the last year. I mean, sure, I was worried when I figured out you knew who I was but I eventually came to realize that I was actually alright with it. In fact, I feel _better_ knowing that you know." She lazily drew circles on the table next to her. Chat watched as her face got redder and redder. "I-uh- well, you see, I had someone I liked and I felt guilty about you liking me when I liked him which I guess would be the other reason I kept a strong line between us."

"So what happened?"

"Uh?"

"What happened? Did he break your heart?" She smiled but shook her head.

"I'm not using you as fall back Chat." He blinked before chuckling. Of course she would be able to pinpoint exactly what he was starting to worry about. He heard her words but there was still a tiny, painful tickle near his heart. A quick swallow dosed it for a bit. "Look, I put him on a pedestal and I would be completely lying if I said it didn't hurt for a bit when he admitted to liking someone else but… but what it really did was free me. I've liked him for so long but I realized that all I was doing was putting him on this impossible pedestal."

"Did you talk to him?"

She chuckled darkly. "No. I couldn't. I always seemed to turn into a stuttering mess when it came to him." A sigh escaped her lips. "I'm sorry Chat. This wasn't how this was supposed to go." He eyed her.

"How this was supposed to go?" She turned scarlet before nodding.

"I wanted this night to be a good night for you." _And me. Really, for both of us. I wanted this to work with all my heart but I messed it up didn't I?_

He swallowed, reaching out to grab the hand that still made circles on the table. It stopped her. Mari's eyes turned to meet his and he could see the signs of wetness in them. She was trying so hard to hold herself together. At that moment, he saw the truth: she really had wanted this to work. He wasn't a fall back for a broken heart. She wasn't a broken, injured damsel in need of a new knight to save her. She was a warrior princess looking for an equal warrior prince to be with her. She wasn't so easy. She had standards. She respected herself, and him, enough to not let that happen. The full force of how much he liked her smacked into him hard. It took all of his energy to control himself.

"Marinette," he breathed, "I believe you. This night has been amazing. I've had fun and I respect you so much for being strong. I know- I know rejection isn't easy but you've been doing it and showing just how strong you are." He pulled the hand he held to his lips. A gentle kiss on the back resulted in her nearly falling out of her chair. Her heart was pounding and she didn't know if he could hear it. "We'll… let's take it slow. We don't have to make any decisions tonight." He stood, pulling her up as well. "For now, you should go to bed. School starts bright and early in the morning. Don't want to be late." She bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Good night, Marinette."

"Night Chat." He released her hand and pulled out his baton, taking off into the night. Marinette ran to the edge of her balcony, watching him disappear into the darkness of the evening, before crumpling to the ground and crying.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Oh boy. The snow's started falling. I have two dogs to walk and a sister that won't get up to help me do it. This is going to be interesting. Imma stay indoors today with a pot of constant hot chocolate running. Anyway, enjoy the Ladrien in this chapter!**

 **Chapter 11**

Ladybug jumped from roof to roof, every now and then flinging her yo-yo out to catch the taller buildings and surpass the gaps she couldn't alone. Her eyes were bloodshot. If the mask wasn't there, anyone would be able to tell that she just spent the last hour crying her eyes out over her horrible date with Chat Noir. Thousands of different possibilities for how this night could have gone ran through her mind and her vision blurred again just considering them. He hadn't admitted it but she knew. She'd really hurt him. Honestly, using him as a fall back never once occurred to her until he'd started worrying silently about it. Tikki was right. She hadn't considered all of the consequences and did the one thing she'd said she wouldn't do.

She'd hurt Chat Noir.

She flung her yo-yo again and landed on the roof of one of the residential buildings. Her breath came out in soft little clouds. Finally, the weather was turning to be more appropriate for the fall. It was late so the world was silent in an eerie, mystical way. She placed her weapon back on her hip. Without thinking, Ladybug had traveled over to the Agreste mansion. She could see into the large, open windows that faced the outside corner of where the building resided; the room was well lit as its occupant was very much awake and sitting at his three-screened computer desk. She swallowed painfully. Really, what in the world was she thinking? Coming here after she just hurt her partner like that. Her feelings for Adrien hadn't really changed despite what she'd just told Chat and maybe that was part of the problem; she was moving too fast and doing so had hurt him. She sighed, rubbing her eyes with the back of a gloved hand to clear the tears, and started to move on when she heard from below, "Ladybug?" A quick glance revealed said boy staring up at her from a now open window. He motioned for her to come down. She hesitated but he was insistent, motioning quickly with his hand for her to come. She sighed, tossed her yo-yo, and flung herself into his room, where she landed with a rather soft thud before replacing her transportation back to her hip.

She remembered when she'd been in his room before. In front of her was a couch with the bed and three screened computer behind it. There were various games to her right and high action features like a skateboard ramp and a rock climbing wall to her left. A second level held nothing but large book shelves with more books than she'd ever seen outside of an actual library.

"Ladybug, is everything alright? Is there an akuma attack?" She turned. Adrien's hair was slicked back, indicating that he'd just gotten out of the shower, and his face was flushed with worry. Panic flashed in his eyes but to her, it looked like a tiny spark of electricity. She shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she replied with, "Nope. I just needed some fresh air so I decided to do a solo patrol this evening."

His shoulders relaxed. He smiled at her brightly, "Oh good. I thought there might have been an attack or something."

"It's quiet this evening," she smiled sadly. He tilted his head at her, a frown crossing his lips.

"What's wrong?" She blinked and wrung her hands together.

"Wrong?"

"If it's not an akuma then something else is bothering you." He moved closer then so that she had to look up to meet his expression. Blue met green and she felt drawn in. Damn it. This was exactly her problem. Adrien reached up and cupped her face gently between his hands. She was trapped. She didn't have the willpower to break from his hold, despite knowing she had the strength. He eyed her face before wiping a thumb under each eye. "You've been crying," he stated matter-of-factly, "I can see it. What's wrong?" She swallowed painfully.

"It's nothing a civilian needs to worry about." He smiled and dropped his hands. Moving past her, he sat on the couch and patted to the seat next to him.

"Then how about a friend?"

She hesitated again. After this internal debate, she slowly moved to where he motioned, sitting beside him. Neither of them spoke for a bit. Finally, she took a steadying breath, looked down at her hands, and said, "I… I really messed up tonight. I hurt Chat Noir."

Adrien blinked. "What?"

"I hurt Chat Noir." She breathed again and continued with, "I invited Chat to my place so he could continue to help me practice dancing for this event I'll be attending and we started talking but I made a mistake and told him that I basically was trying a relationship with him because this boy I had a crush on admitted to me that he had someone else he liked and this made him think I was using him only as fall back and now I can't reach him nor do I think I can face him again because I didn't want him to know that. I'm not using him as fall back. I genuinely like him but all of this was going so fast that it just seemed like I was and now… now I don't know what to do or think." She shook a bit. "I'm scared. I know a superhero isn't supposed to say that but I really am scared."

He stared at her, mouth open a bit in surprise. His mouth was dry and all he really wanted to do was grab her in a hug and say that everything was going to be okay, that Chat Noir didn't hate her, that he too wanted a relationship with her; not just Ladybug but Marinette too. But he couldn't. He couldn't just say it because then it really would hurt her too much. Instead, he reached out and put a hand on top of her shaking hands and drew her attention to him. He smiled. "Ladybug, it's alright to be afraid. No one said superheroes had to be perfect twenty four seven. Besides, you're allowed to have a normal life outside the suit." He coughed. "Also, I don't think Chat hates you too much. After all, isn't he your partner? It would be pretty shameful of him to give up on you so quickly because of something like this. Especially since it sounds like your relationship is going from professional to… well, something more."

"But what if he doesn't want to speak to me anymore? What if he decides I'm not worth it?" She slumped in her seat looking more dejected than he'd ever seen her before. "What if he gives up on me like I was afraid he would?"

He didn't hesitate this time. He immediately grabbed her and held her in a tight embrace. At first she made no movement to reciprocate the motion but eventually she did. She buried her face in his neck and squeezed the back of his shirt. Fresh tears came to her eyes and fell, wetting his shoulder. He merely held her while she cried again.

Several minutes later, she pushed back from him, her face as red as her eyes. He almost didn't catch the blush under her mask. "S-sorry. I got-got your shirt a little wet," she blubbered. He brushed her hair gently back off of her face and smiled.

"I have plenty more. Don't worry about it." He paused. His smile grew wilder as he said softly, "Your hair. You have it down this evening." She blinked before chuckling.

"Yeah I uh… was wearing a hoodie earlier and it didn't do well with the pigtails in."

"It looks good. I like it on you." She smiled and wiped her eyes.

"Thank-you." A sharp beep rang out and both of them flinched, knowing full well that that was the sound of her miraculous running out. Tikki was tired especially since she'd been up comforting Marinette for some time. "Well," she said softly, standing, "That's my cue to go. Thanks for listening to me. It's nice to know that people like you are willing to help people like me."

"You mean superheroes? I think Alya does better at that than me."

"True but I don't see Alya here right now do I?" She smirked again, pulling her yo-yo off her hip. Adrien joined her at the window, opening it for her. Another beep rang out. She threw the yo-yo and it hooked on a nearby building but she paused before taking off. She faced him one last time, noting how close they were. "Adrien, there's something I need to confess. That boy I said I originally liked before Chat? Well… he was you." He blinked. After a few seconds, his face flushed red and he put a hand over his mouth in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. Ladybug only smiled sweetly. "I wanted to confess at least once. I'm going to make things right with Chat. Thanks, for everything."

Before he could stop her, she tugged on the yo-yo's string and it pulled her through the window and out into the night. He watched until she was out of sight.

Adrien let the window drop shut. He slid to the ground in dazed silence as her words hit him hard.

Him.

Dear goodness he'd been jealous and petty of _himself_.

Ladybug, no Marinette, liked _him_.

Both of him.

Plagg flew out of hiding and rolled his eyes. "That was your chance to take it the next step further and you lost it. So what now lover boy?" He closed his mouth and licked his lips.

"Honestly, I wish I knew." He stood, walking over to his desk to find a notebook. He began scribbling ideas like crazy. Plagg flew next to him to spy over his shoulder but he couldn't make heads or tails of the things his chosen was scribbling onto the paper.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Trying to figure this out."

"And writing it down's going to help?"

"I don't know but it's better than doing nothing."

Plagg landed on the table and crossed his arms. He wasn't one for romance, he hadn't lied to Adrien when he'd told him that that was Tikki's area of specialty, but he couldn't just watch his chosen scribbling like a maniac into a notebook hoping for an answer. He thought for a second.

"The ball."

Adrien stopped writing and eyed him, "What?"

Plagg rolled his eyes, "I said, 'the ball.' You deaf now as well as being idiotically love struck? Why don't you use something related to the ball to confess to her? Why not those lessons you're giving her on the side?"

The young man blinked. "You mean... have her figure out I'm Chat the same way I figured out she's Ladybug? Dancing?" Plagg shrugged.

"Why not?" Adrien bit his bottom lip then licked his lips.

"There are three weeks left. If we keep practicing regularly until then… it just might work." He smirked and gave Plagg a gentle rub on the head. Plagg closed his eyes and fought back the urge to purr. After all, he was the cool God of Destruction. Not some easily manipulated kitten. Adrien closed his notebook and went over to his calendar to check his schedule. Lucky for him, all of his Wednesdays were clear right up until the ball and all he could hope was that it remained that way.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes: Well, the snow wasn't bad but I still haven't gone anywhere plus there are like, eight unpublished chapters of this story now. I might as well just spend the rest of my day editing and posting. Let's see how far we get shall we? Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 12**

The second Wednesday came and went.

Adrien couldn't meet with Marinette for practice due to an unscheduled photo shoot but she was happy to report to him on Thursday that she'd managed to not injure Nathaniel again nor any of the other guys she'd been partnered with. In fact, Madame Amelie had praised her for the most improvement since the week before.

She thanked him for his help.

He couldn't help but feel a little bit jealous. His stomach twisted painfully at the idea of other guys dancing with her but he couldn't say anything. Technically speaking, he and Marinette were nothing. Whether it was him or Chat Noir. He hadn't returned to her balcony since Monday; it seemed like his bad luck had finally decided to pay a visit, packing his nights with modeling, projects, and an akuma attack that'd left them so tired, they didn't even hang around to talk after it was purified. They'd done their usual fist bumped, lacking its usual energy and luster, but then went their separate ways.

He wasn't happy with the wall that was building between them.

It needed to come crashing down soon.

As he sat in his regular seat on a slightly dark Friday morning, it was a wonder no one could point him out as Chat Noir. Had he been suited, there was no doubt in his mind that his tail would have been swishing back and forth like a real cat's. Nino and Alya shared a look at his expression. They'd clearly never seen him like this before. Nino started to ask him what was up when Madame Bustier began her lesson. He smiled to his friend and shook his head. He'd talk later.

Marinette came running in the room a couple of minutes later, only stating she'd over slept. Everyone in the room basically rolled their eyes as their class president shuffled to her seat abashedly. Adrien kept his eyes down. He didn't want the heat in his face to be so obvious.

Nino raised an eyebrow.

When they were dismissed from class, Alya and Nino both grabbed Adrien by the arms and dragged him out of the room. Marinette watched in confusion. Alya paused long enough to shoot her some excuse of needing to speak to Adrien about something majorly important and that she would catch up with the dark haired girl later. Marinette shrugged, collected her stuff, and went off to find a quiet place to work on her historical research project for the ball.

The trio found a secluded bench in the park across the way. The two doing the holding tossed their hostage onto the bench and Adrien landed with an –oomph-. He rubbed his shoulder and started to say something but backed off immediately, seeing the slightly peeved expression on both of their faces. Alya stood with her hands on her hips. Nino's arms were crossed. Both were looking down at him. He sunk into the bench a bit, scared for the first time ever for his life, and he'd yet to find out why exactly his life was in danger.

"I don't know what's happened," Alya practically hissed, "but you and Marinette have been acting weird since Monday. She won't tell me what's going on but one of you is going to spill or so help me, I'll make both of your lives miserable."

Adrien flinched. What could he say? This whole thing with Mari was a mess and he didn't know how to fix it. He opened and closed his mouth several times before releasing a frustrated groan, running his hands through his hair furiously. "Look, I don't know what to tell you two," he finally stated. "I know you're worried about us but I really can't share anything. Mari and I… well, we're just going through a rough patch is all."

"Dude, a rough patch," Nino snickered, "You call this a rough patch? You've been growling and making eyes at any guy that's been near Mari all week…."

"She hasn't been sleeping," Alya added quickly.

"Both of you barely talk to each other…."

"Mari's been acting like a zombie…."

"You've been daydreaming more than usual…."

"So I'll ask again: What happened?"

Adrien blinked at the both of them. He was amazed. He knew that both of them were loyal and observant but this was a new level. He sighed and wrung his hands together. "Look, I really can't say anything. There are things going on between me and Mari that… well, we just can't share. I know you two are worried but please, give me a little more time. I'll make it work. Promise." The two of them shared a look. Nino sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. Alya dropped her hands.

"Look dude, we're here for both of you."

"Not going to lie, it's frustrating to be left in the dark but if it means that much to both of you, we'll wait until you're ready to talk to us." Adrien smiled up at the two of them.

"Thanks. Really." Nino offered him a hand to help him up. Alya paused and caught Nino's arm before they started heading back.

"Should we tell him," she whispered.

"What? That we know about him being Chat Noir? Not yet."

"But…."

"I know," he patted her hand. "We're best off waiting babe. Until they come to us. Pushing it'll only cause more cracks and we don't want that right now." His eyes twinkled mischievously. "Especially since I have a bet to win." She rolled her eyes before placing a peck on his cheek.

"In your dreams. Adrinette is definitely going to beat LadyNoir."

"But don't forget about Ladrien or Marichat." They giggled together over the stupid ship names they'd created for their oblivious friends and caught up with Adrien who'd noticed their absence at the entrance and paused to give them time to catch up. They brushed it off as wanting a brief make-out session. He only rolled his eyes and together, they all headed off to find Marinette in the corner of the library, working very diligently on her project.

Marinette was completely nervous. Friday night was cool over Paris but it was only part of the reason why she currently was shivering on top of Notre Dame. Since an akuma attack had taken place yesterday, their normal patrol schedule was cancelled in favor of a Friday route. It was something they agreed on that required no talking which is why she'd been able to basically runaway after the fist bump yesterday. She was early by nearly thirty minutes for their patrol. This gave her plenty of time to panic and worry about how Chat was going to react to her since Monday had been a complete wreck. On top of that, she'd turned to a civilian for emotional support; the same civilian she'd basically hurt Chat over. She wanted to scream in frustration.

Soft footfalls from behind told her that he'd arrived. She gripped the edge that she currently sat on, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath, "Hello Chat."

She could feel his eyes burrowing into the back of her head and she was pretty sure she could make out the soft swish of his tail and the sound of his baton shrinking to be stored on his back. He approached her slowly.

"My Lady," he greeted. He kept his voice even and soft to not scare her off.

The last couple of days had been hell for both of them he knew; Alya and Nino had called his attention to it. After they'd returned to school, Adrien watched Marinette. Really watched her. He saw the bags under her eyes and the clear lack of sleep she had. Her head had been bobbing towards the table several times. He felt so guilty because it was obvious that his talk with her late Monday night hadn't done anything to help ease her worries about hurting his own feelings.

She stood, bringing him out of his thoughts. A quick tug at her yo-yo pulled it off her hip and readied it for throwing. "East or West?"

"Ladybug…."

"East or West Chat. We can talk after." He paused. He could see her shoulders shaking even though she didn't turn around to face him. His own slumped as he deflated at the sight of his lady, his princess, his Marinette, standing heroically over the city she loved but shaking from fear because of him.

"Marinette…." She jerked but tossed her yo-yo. It latched onto a nearby gargoyle.

"I'll go East. See you at the tower." A quick tug on the string sent her flying towards the East. Chat watched her take off and he sighed, decidedly hurrying to the West, just to make this conversation happen faster. After all, she couldn't really escape afterwards now could she?

But she already knew that. Ladybug only half paid attention as she patrolled the East part of Paris, nearly missing a robbery in progress, before she ended up at the Tower. They normally met on one of the beams just short of the viewing platform because it was more freeing to be standing on an open beam than caged by the safety barrier. She landed on said beam, panting. Chat was already there, leaning against one of the cross beams, arms crossed, and eyes closed. His ears twitched to hear her land. This prompted him to open them and stare at her. She swallowed painfully. He walked towards her slowly and she began to lose her nerve. With each step he took, she took one back until she was pinned by another cross beam. Her back was pressed flat against it, hands flat, and her face turning as red as her mask. She had to fight hard to keep the tears at bay. Chat smiled at her and ducked his head a bit. "You can't runaway now Marinette," he whispered. She kept her eyes adverted from him. Quickly biting her lower lip helped to keep it from quivering. "Ladybug, please look at me."

"I-I... can't."

"Yes you can."

"No I can't." She swallowed again, curling her hands into fists against the metal. "I know you're upset with me. I know I hurt you. I promised Tikki I wouldn't and one of the first things I do is hurt you." He smiled softly, grabbing her chin gently to turn her head to him. She kept her eyes adverted though.

"Does it look like I'm mad at you Marinette?" She blinked but stayed silent. He ducked his head more. This forced her eyes to finally meet his. All she saw was warmth in them. There was no hint of anger with her or even hurt; if any of it had happened, he was good at keeping it hidden from her. She slumped back against the beam. "I promise. I'm not mad at you. I'm not disappointed or upset or any other negative emotion you can think of. I'm none of it. What I am, if anything, is sorry."

She balked. "Wh-what? Why? You've got nothing to be sorry for!" She reached forward, clutching his shoulders. "I'm the one that's sorry! I tried to rush things and I was stupid and said things I shouldn't have and I hurt you. Don't lie to me. I know I did. It was me doing all that. Not you. If anything, you're innocent of all guilt. I…." Chat placed a finger on her lips to stop her. She fell silent.

"No there is something. I didn't make sure to clear everything up. I ran away and I left you to panic about hurting me. I didn't make it clear that what we were doing was alright, that I understood everything, and truly, I trusted everything you said." He ducked his head lower again. His eyes glowed green in the near darkness his shadow created; she gulped but couldn't tear her own away. "Can I make-up for it now? Can I show you?"

She nodded slowly and kept going until his lips made contact with hers.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: I'm going to say that I don't write kissing scenes often (I've only kissed one guy in my life guys. I don't have much to go off of unfortunately.) for various reasons but uh... well, I hope this is up to standards. I'm going to put on here that I'm handing the title of driving force for extended kissing scene to miraculous_riley on AO3. Go read the comment left on chapter 12 there. You'll understand. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 13**

The kiss started out innocently enough.

Her lips were warm and yielding under his. The mere thought of her was enough to make him drunk but now, holding her close, running a gloved paw into her hair, and kissing her like there was no tomorrow, made him elated. The best part was that she returned it. Every piece of passion he poured into her was returned just as strongly. Ladybug reached up and cupped his face, opening her mouth just enough to warrant exploration by him. Their tongues danced. Each breath mingled in the nearly invisible space between them. He pulled her closer, if that was even possible, running his hands down her neck, shoulders, stopping short of her hips.

She responded almost immediately. As he gripped her hips, she pushed herself forward, thinking that there had to be a way to get even closer than they already were, moving her hands back to behind his head. She laced her fingers in the shaggy mess he called hair. She tugged enough to crush his lips against hers. He squeezed her hips a bit, a soft groan escaping his throat. _Plagg's never going to let me hear the end of this later but it's worth it._ She lightly nipped his bottom lip. _Oh so worth it._ He moved his hands again, this time to her face, to cup her softly.

For what felt like eternity they stayed that way, feeling and kissing, until finally, they pulled apart to breathe.

Properly.

Chat panted. His glowing eyes explored her, taking in the sight of her being close to him. Her face was flush and lips swollen from the aggressive ending and she didn't drop her hands. She smiled up at him, "Wow. I didn't know you could kiss so well." He chuckled.

"Same to you Marinette," he whispered. She stroked his cheek before dropping her arms to pull him into a tight embrace instead. Her face rested oh so neatly into his neck where she softly placed a final kiss. His heart soared. He hugged her close and took a steadying breath, having to rationalize that de-transforming to ravish her appropriately on the Eiffel Tower was not a smart idea by any stretch of the imagination. After a few more minutes of that, she looked back up at him.

"We have a problem though."

"Problem? I don't see a problem," he purred. She eyed him but then rolled them.

"Of course not at this moment. Not what I meant. We have another problem though since I don't _know_ who you are." Chat nuzzled her head.

"That can be solved very quickly. Plagg…." Ladybug jerked and used both of her hands to cover his mouth. He blinked. It worked though and the final words to call of his transformation were halted in their tracks. She sighed wistfully and poked his nose after removing her hands, which he wiggled in response, causing her to giggle.

"Not so fast kitty. I want to do this on my own. It's not fair you figured out who I was and I get the easy way out."

"But…."

"No way. Don't even think about it."

"As you wish my lady." He pulled a hand up to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss. He smirked up at her. "What would you like me to do then?"

"Not a thing." She pulled her hand back but gave his bell a flick in the process. "I'm going to do this _my_ way. I promise. I'll figure it out. I will know who you are and no matter who's under that mask, I am going to love you unconditionally." She reached for her yo-yo. "But for now, let's go home. It's getting late." He grabbed her wrist, causing her to turn, and to expose herself for the briefest of seconds for another kiss. She flamed. Chat shot her a cocky grin.

"That was a good-night kiss. Sleep well princess." He saluted her with two fingers before falling back off the beam and taking off into the night. She watched but gathered herself again to take off in the opposite direction. Her heart pounded more than normal.

Landing in her room on the final beep, Marinette was bathed in a warm red light. She bit her lip, landed on her bed, clutched at the nearest pillow, and squealed really loudly into it. Tikki floated above her. She was smiling brightly at the young hero.

"Can you believe this Tikki? It's fixed! Chat doesn't hate me!"

"That's wonderful Marinette," she complimented, floating to the desktop to grab one of her cookies. "But you need to figure out who he _is_ first." She pulled her face away from the pillow. Clutching it at her chest, she rolled over to look at the ceiling. That was a good question. How was she going to do this? Chat had used the dancing but it seemed like he had enough experience to tell two people apart. She had to concentrate too much to rely on that. "If it helps any, you only have two people to focus on."

 _And you're probably strong enough now to break the spell_ the little fairy thought but didn't say. She only hoped the push was enough to break the wall that surrounded her chosen's mind.

That was true. On her list of people were only two: Nathaniel and Adrien. Both had danced with her for the first time last week and then the next day, one of them had danced with her a second time and used that to figure out who she was. She blinked.

Wait.

Nathaniel had danced with her during the first class for lessons.

Lessons.

Chat knew how to dance.

He wouldn't have needed lessons.

 _Oh. My. God._

How oblivious was she?

Marinette shot up in her bed, now clutching the pillow even tighter, face glowing red from the top of her head all the way down to her shoulders at the realization. She stared up at her, "Figured it out?"

"If-if you mean who Chat is, then yes," she breathed. Tikki blinked and then laughed. Marinette shook her head. "Why does it feel like my head's clearer?"

"The magic." Tikki flew up and landed on her knees. She crossed her legs. "The Miraculous are embedded with some powerful magic and part of it is the ability to protect its chosen. Part of that protection is a veil of sorts. It's a glamour. Anyone who tries to think about the identity of the heroes will often find themselves thinking about something else or just be unable to put their finger on it. Unfortunately, the magic required that even the heroes themselves were subject to it.

"Now in some cases, the spell can be broken. The easiest way to do it is to both willingly agree to share your identities. Other times, it takes the right set of circumstances to break through it. You and Chat Noir are embedded with the same base magic because of Plagg and me, so, while it took you a little longer than it should have to figure out who each other was, it wasn't completely impossible. That, on top of your love made the spell even weaker."

"But if the magic was meant to protect us, why was it so easily broken?"

Tikki giggled and flew up to hover in front of the young girl's face. "The origin magic meant for this to happen. The earrings of creation and the ring of destruction are a balance for each other and the magic wanted the two holders to be as in-tune as possible. Part of that is knowing that you two need to know each _other_. Completely. Without questions." She smiled sadly as she continued with, "But this world isn't a friendly place and so the safeguard, the glamour, was put there in case one of the miraculouses landed in the wrong hands."

"Like Hawkmoth's?"

"Yes." Tikki sighed. "Poor Nooroo. He just doesn't have the best luck."

"We'll get him back soon. I promise." Tikki nodded and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I know. I trust you." Mari smiled and slid off her bed, pulling her pigtails out. She changed into her pajamas before climbing back and snuggling down into the covers. Tikki flew up to her pillow.

"Monday's going to be awesome," she yawned. "I can't wait to see Chat's… Adrien's... expression when I tell him I know."

"Yeah. It'll be great." Tikki patted the young girl's head gently as she slipped off to sleep, before flying over to turn the light off. For the first time in years, her tiny little heart fluttered excitedly for the morning.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: I need this reveal to happen buuuuuut it's not going to happen for a few more chapters. Originally, I wanted it to be during the ball but yeah, they're not going to make it and neither am I. Also, I advance apologize for the horror that is going to be chapter 15.**

 **Chapter 14**

Marinette swore again as she accidentally stabbed herself with another pin. Normally, sewing was the one thing she was good and coordinated at but with her mind running at a million miles an hour, and her rushing because she was behind, there was just no way for her to solely focus on her work. Friday night had been magical. She'd kissed Chat Noir. _She'd kissed Chat Noir_. She'd been elated and on cloud nine all weekend but as Monday rolled around, her nerves started to get the best of her. Tikki tried to talk her down but it didn't do any good; she'd still woken up super early, paced her room, worried about what to wear, debated about actually trying a new hairstyle, and _what would she say_? She couldn't just walk up and go, "Good Morning Adrien Agreste. I know you're Chat Noir, superhero of Paris, and I know you know I'm Ladybug, other superhero of Paris, and we totally had a make-out session on the Eiffel Tower Friday night. Can we do that again like right now?"

Not that it mattered. Adrien was out again because of a modeling job and Mari deflated when Nino told them. Alya eyed her before shooting Nino a look. Mari was sure that she was going to be hounded with questions again about her response to the news but for some reason, the questions never came. Nino and Alya stayed silent all day.

After school, Alya came over to work on the project with Mari. They had a pleasant time, talking and snacking and working, until she finally went home closer to nine just so Mari could focus a bit on her dress (which she'd been severely slacking on for the last week since she hadn't been in the mood).

Then came Tuesday and still no Adrien. Mari was sure she was going to lose her mind with the anticipation. She wasn't as lucky today about the questions because as soon as lunch rolled around the three of them went off to grab a quick bite. Nino, surprisingly, started it.

"So are you and Adrien good now? Are you official," he asked around a mouth full of sandwich. Mari coughed, nearly spitting out the tea she'd been drinking. Alya patted her back until she stopped coughing then offered her a napkin to clean her chin.

"Official? Official what? You don't mean…."

"He means it." Alya leaned closer, eyes twinkling in a dangerous manner at her. "But spill girl. We've been watching and we know what's up. You've been real down since Adrien's been out for the last two days." Mari ducked her head, cheeks flaming, eyes shifting a bit.

"A-Adrien and I are alright," she finally said, "but-but we're not official or anything." Nino smirked and Alya narrowed her eyes.

"I'm still in."

"Yeah but I'm still going to win." Marinette eyed the both of them.

"You didn't." Both of them smiled at her innocently. "Oh god… you did. You made a bet on me and Adrien." Nino snickered and leaned back in his seat.

"Yeah but at least all of it's on you and Adrien." Alya kicked him under the table and narrowed her eyes at him before hissing, "Babe, we agreed to not share the details of anything remember? No cracks?" He flinched. Leaning down, he rubbed the spot she kicked. Now it was her turn to question.

"Alya," Marinette sing-songed, "what's the bet? You know you want to share." The brown-haired girl shook her head and stood up, refusing to say anything else and turning to Nino didn't work either as he was looking anywhere but at her. Plus, he was within his right mind to fear Alya's wrath. Marinette sighed but stood up as well, knowing that arguing wasn't going to get her any answers.

Not that she didn't try. She did. However, Alya was on to her and kept sneaking away with Nino or making it impossible to say anything. So, Marinette ended up going home without any answers and a sneaking suspicion that her friends were up to something; something that her and Adrien were going to regret.

"You need to be careful Marinette," Tikki trilled, bringing her a Band-Aid and back to reality. She took it gratefully and wrapped it around her finger with a smile. "If you keep this up, your dress will be more red than pink."

"I'm not spilling _that_ much blood but I will be more careful," she assured her, giving her cheek a gentle poke. Tikki giggled and flew to the top of the dress model.

Mari's dress was coming along beautifully. The corset was already pinned and ready for sewing. She had decided at the last minute to add two low lying, wrap-sleeves made from the same, thin material as the skirt. They would wrap around the upper part of her arm before connecting in the back. The skirt, which was interchanging layers of silver and pink, was going to be the most work for her but she already had the first layer of the same satin material as the corset sewn and was currently working on the second. This layer was made out of silver tulle. The final layer was going to be the sheer, shimmery lace pink. In all, three layers. Three really annoying layers to sew and assemble. She sighed as she pinned the last piece of the tulle into place. She sat back on her heels before smiling up at Tikki who smiled down at her.

"You know, I've been thinking Tikki," Mari said, standing and moving to her desk. There was a plate of cookies and some drink, and she picked up one of the cookies to munch on as she continued with, "Realizing that Adrien is Chat was kind of… anti-climactic for me."

Tikki flew down to join her. Picking up her own cookie, she stared at her. "Was it supposed to be dramatic or something?"

"Well no but… I don't know. It just feels a little disappointing." She leaned back in her chair. "I want to do something to make it a little bit more interesting." Tikki giggled.

"What do you have in mind?" Marinette turned back to her friend, her eyes narrowed, a devious smirk on her face, and a plan already on her mind for terrorizing her poor kitty.

Starting with school tomorrow.

On Wednesday, Adrien had to be losing his mind. Or his sight. Both? Could he lose both at the same time? Of course he could. But god, what a way to go in one sitting.

He rubbed his eyes as he and Nino walked up the steps of the school. In front of them were Alya and Marinette. They'd arrived a few minutes ahead of them and were animatedly talking about something, missing the two of them arriving just behind them, greeting each other as normal, and then following them inside. Nino looked at him confused.

"You alright dude?"

Adrien blinked. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." He swallowed hard and pointed to Marinette's back. "Is she…. Is she wearing a _cat_ outfit?"

Nino turned to see what he saw and he raised an eyebrow. Marinette didn't _seem_ to be any different. At first. She still had her hair parted in her traditional pigtails but the ribbons weren't red, they were neon green. Looking lower, he then noted that her jacket wasn't gray, it was black with a matching neon green paw sewn onto the back. She had on a knee length skirt, a belted tail, and black ballet flats. It took him only a couple of seconds to realize what she was doing and he snickered before playfully tapping Adrien on the shoulder. "Yeah man. She totally is. Hey Marinette," Nino called. Adrien's face exploded red and he reached over to stop him. It was too late. The girls spun around, a knowing grin crossing Marinette's face. Alya raised an eyebrow but waved at the two of them as well.

"Morning," she called. She turned and stopped to wait for them, giving Adrien a complete view of her outfit. She wore a green shirt with angled black stripes on it. The jacket front had tiny green paw prints walking across it. She smiled brightly at them.

As they walked closer, Adrien's redness became more pronounced and he definitely could not meet Marinette's expression. Nino whistled. "So Mari. What's up with the wardrobe change?" She shrugged.

"Just wanted to. What? Alya's not the only one who can show her superhero pride."

"Didn't say that. Just didn't realize you were such a big Chat Noir fan."

She chuckled, "I'm claiming the number one fan title." She nodded and winked towards Adrien, "Without a doubt." The two girls shared a giggle as they turned to continue on to class and Nino tapped his shoulder again with a snicker before following. Adrien was left with his mouth hanging open once more.

He had no idea what was going on but whatever it was, it could continue for the rest of forever.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Notes: In America, we sometimes say "Pardon my French" right before or after we swear. I do not know any context behind why we say it or so on (I think it might have something to do when English speakers were required to learn French and maybe it was an apology for being horrible at it. I don't know. I have to do my homework on that one). I find that statement to be appropriate for this chapter on more than one level. DO NOT EXCUSE MARI FOR HOW SHE'S ABOUT TO LAY INTO CHLOE. This has been your friendly PSA about upcoming swearing.**

 **Chapter 15**

The classroom was nearly filled when the four of them walked in. Adrien's face was still on fire but he managed to swallow down the heat with a silent prayer that it didn't rush to any other _awkward_ locations. All the while, Marinette and Alya walked in front of them, giggling and talking about who-knows-what and he wished that he had Chat's super hearing on him right now. _If only to hear her voice more clearly_. The four of them sat down at their respective seats before Marinette seemingly remembered something and reached into her bag to pull out two tiny packages that she handed to both him and Nino.

"Here are your orders gentlemen," she chirped. Nino took a quick look inside and raised his thumb at her before putting it away in his own bag. Adrien accepted his, slightly confused. Looking inside, he found a pink silk bowtie, mask, and pocket square, perfectly sewn of course and he blinked. Marinette only smiled at him. "You paid me for it remember? That was the deal."

"Yeah but… but I didn't think you'd…."

"Make it? Oh Adrien, can't you tell when I'm joking? Of course I was going to make it for you! I don't mind us matching for the ball."

"Excuse me," a voice screeched. They turned to find Chloé standing at the door, arms by her side, fist clenched, and her brow lowered over her eyes; fury raged in them. "Excuse me, you did not...why in the world would Adrien be matching you Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

All eyes were on them now. Everyone else fell silent as they waited for the fall out to happen. Adrien's face paled but Marinette took a breath and remained calm. She was determined to not fall to Chloé today; today was not the day she wanted to be worrying with the spoiled blonde considering she had plans to contend to herself. So, she did the one thing she could think of. She channeled as much of Ladybug as possible (even though Ladybug was none to have her moments with her too). The dark haired girl politely folded her hands on the desk.

"Adrien and I are going to the ball together," she said evenly, "We determined that weeks ago."

Chloé unleashed an unearthly screech. Sabrina, standing behind her, covered her ears. "Impossible!" She stomped over to Adrien's table and swiped the package from his hand. He stood abruptly.

"Hey!"

"What? She couldn't make an appropriate suit for you either? Please! I could have one made especially for you in no time! Besides, I know that girl can't dance."

"Give it back Chloé," Adrien ordered. "You know my father is putting me in one of his suits. Mari just made me the accessories to match her dress."

"Have you even _seen_ her dress? She probably doesn't even have anything made!" She motioned to herself. "I wouldn't be surprised if it wouldn't be some second-hand piece of trash. I on the other hand have an original dress all ready to go." She then spotted Marinette's outfit and deciding that she hadn't made her point clear enough, she snickered. "Besides, why would you want to go with someone who dresses like that?"

"Yeah, like that," Sabrina mimicked.

"And someone who likes that two-bit superhero! Chat Noir is nothing compared to Ladybug. Paris would be better off without him."

Adrien's heart dropped. He knew it. He knew Ladybug would be better off without him and his flirtatious nature; better without him always getting in the way or hurt. _Marinette_ would be better off without him. The doubt had eaten into him every now and then but Ladybug always made it better; she assured him that he was needed and that she would be nothing without him. He knew all of this and yet, he wouldn't give up his miraculous for any reason. Paris meant a lot to him. He had friends now to protect. It was his home. He swallowed but said nothing.

He did flinch however, when from behind him, came the loudest bang he'd ever heard. It echoed around the silent room.

Marinette was standing now. Her hands were on the desk from where she'd just slammed them. So much for calm and not falling for Chloé. Everyone in the room physically backed off; they'd seen Marinette angry before but this was a new level of fury that they felt coming off her. If Chloé was ice, Marinette was an active volcano and this bitch was about to be _burned._

"Don't you ever," she hissed, "insult Chat Noir again. Paris needs him as much as Ladybug. _Ladybug_ needs him. She is nothing without him." Chloé flinched back as Marinette walked up to her. Getting in her face, Mari continued with, "Chat Noir is a kind, selfless, funny, witty, and charming hero. My words don't even do him justice! He's far more amazing than any of us deserve. He has and will always lay his life down for this city, Ladybug, and even _you_. If you can't show some gratitude you pretentious blonde bitch, then you can shut your god damned mouth or I will shut it for you." She blinked, flinching under Marinette's glare, but she gathered herself enough to stutter out, "I-I'm telling Daddy!"

"Go ahead. Even he won't save you." She humphed, thrust the package back at Marinette, before sulking off to her seat. Everyone in the class cheered loudly before returning to what they were doing prior to Chloé's impromptu melt down. Marinette smirked before facing Adrien. It changed, fading into a soft smile. "Here. Sorry about that."

He swallowed again. "Don't worry about it." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Chat Noir would be please to know that he's got such a wonderful number one fan." Marinette giggled.

"Good. He shouldn't doubt himself. Paris does really need him." She winked. "Even if it's to keep the girls' hearts a flutter."

"I have it on good authority he only has one girl in mind."

"And I'm sure she's happy to know that." She turned to go back to her seat. Madame Mendeleiev entered the classroom before he could say anything else and his chance at possibly escaping to show her just how grateful Chat Noir was, was lost.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Notes: This is it! This is the one everyone's been waiting for! I couldn't wait for the ball so it had to happen like now. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 16**

Marinette hummed lightly as she rocked back and forth on her heels, waiting. After a few moments, there was a knock on the door and Adrien walked in, hair disheveled and breathing a little hard, his gym bag slung over his left shoulder. She smiled brightly at him. He gulped.

Marinette, now wearing her practice clothes, had changed her hair style.

It was up in a bun.

He was sure he was ready to explode. The day had been nothing but an absolute _tease_ and he had no idea why she had been doing it. After the Chloé incident this morning, Mari had returned to her normal self; only she included lots of winks and what he considered flirtatious comments in the mix. It had been… er… _hard_ to concentrate all day. Even he wanted to slap himself for thinking of that pun but he refocused and considered why in the world she would have even done half of the things she had today. Maybe she was trying to trick him into revealing himself. Maybe she was just trying to change her style. The list of reasons she could be doing anything, or nothing at all depending on who he asked or spoke to, was numerous but he had no idea where to start in his thinking. For now, he just shot her his usual grin. He gently sat his bag down at the door (Plagg had given him an ear full back home after the last time). Marinette watched him, her smile never dimming, and he approached her slowly.

His eyes nearly glowed green in the dim lighting. She was amazed that she'd never seen it before- how similar he was to Chat. If Tikki was to be believed (and she always was) then it meant that the magic was lifted and the idea of two boys- one polite and kind, the other charming and witty- being just one was easier to swallow and _see_. God, how she could see them now. They overlapped in her mind causing it to spin.

She was perfectly alright with this.

They stood apart for some minutes before Adrien managed to choke out, "H-How did it go today? In your dance lessons I mean."

She leaned her head a bit. "Wonderful," she trilled, "I didn't get as much practice last week as I did the week before so I was a tiny bit rusty but Madame Amelie still says I'm dancing way better than I did the first time. I think Nathaniel's going to talk to you tomorrow. I told him about the lessons. He's going to want to say thank-you for saving him from any more damage." Adrien smirked.

"You? Damage someone?" Marinette's face twisted and she stomped down, lightly and playfully, onto his foot. He jerked. Pretending to be really hurt, he clutched at his chest, nearly falling forward. "Marinette! That attack hurt me to the core." She quickly put a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggle. Her silly, overdramatic kitty.

"I thought I couldn't damage anyone," she joshed. He sat back up, righted himself, and then bowed properly.

"My apologies." She rolled her eyes but took the hand he now extended out.

"Don't lie. You're not sorry and you'll make that joke again soon." He smirked again (such a Chat like expression!) but didn't deny it as he pulled her close, letting her find the proper hand placements.

The contact was a mistake. Adrien had to breathe slowly and evenly, thinking of anything except the perfect, beautiful girl currently in his arms. His heart was pounding a million miles a minute. Heat covered his face again. She made him dizzy and elated all at once but he'd promised; even though he had wanted to earlier, seconds later, his promise to not do anything to reveal himself came back to his mind and just like then, he found himself in an odd limbo of wanting to but unable to do anything. Marinette leaned her head back a bit to make eye-contact with him. Blue met green. The sky, the ocean, any paint Nathaniel could buy, nothing compared to that color. He breathed, feeling at peace, before starting off.

Their dance was far better than it had been the first time. Marinette wasn't counting, nor was she stepping on his feet, and her eyes, soft and tender, stayed on him as they danced. Her scent intoxicated him again: she smelled of sugar and flour and vanilla and it was just as effective as him drinking a heavy liquor (he guessed). Her hand was soft in his and the other lay loose on his shoulder. Her back was straight, head held high, and her feet moving with none of the hesitation that had been there at the beginning; now she was showing her confidence just as assuredly as she knew how to throw her yo-yo.

He was dying. She was his murderer.

After a few minutes of their warm up, she stopped and reached over to turn the CD player on. A pleasant song began, which one she didn't know, but she was happy with it either way; Adrien started moving in the box step and Marinette decided to do something bold. She took a breath and leaned in. Her head rested right on his chest. She'd seen characters in movies do this before ("How romantic," Tikki had gushed when she'd told her what she planned on doing). She never imagined how easy it would be. Adrien, though, stiffened in surprised. She wasn't looking up so she didn't see the way he bit his bottom lip or how he turned his eyes skyward but she could feel both of his hands tighten on her and hear his heart beat speed up exponentially. A cheeky grin crossed her lips. It took a lot of will power to not giggle.

Adrien swore he heard a tiny giggle come from a corner of the room. A quick glance showed only a red and black streak ducking out of sight again into Marinette's pink and gray gym bag. He smirked.

Good for Plagg. He deserved some time with his partner.

He let out his breath and turned back to his own partner. He leaned his head down a bit and whispered, "Ready to spin?" She leaned back, smiled, and nodded before following him into a perfect spin. She came back elated. "You've gotten really good at that Marinette."

"Thanks. I happen to have a really good teacher."

"They must be amazing if they have you grinning like that."

"You can say they're paws-itively clawsome." He spluttered. An un-human sound came from his throat and his nose flamed red. She punned. Dear God above. Marinette Dupain-Cheng just _PUNNED._ Marinette smirked at him. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

If only she knew.

Adrien started to reply when suddenly, a rather large explosion rocked the school to its very foundation, causing him to jerk backwards, pulling her to himself before landing with a hard –thud- on the hardwood floor. Her face immediately buried into his chest. He protectively wrapped both arms around her until the shaking ceased. They looked out the window and saw an outlandish looking akuma passing by; dressed in a wide pink tutu with various sweets scattered about the outfit, she declared herself as Patisserie, the best baker in all of France. The two of them scrambled to their feet. He jolted as he realized that he couldn't transform there. Marinette still hadn't figured out his identity and that also meant she couldn't transform; not at least in front of "civilian" him. He racked his brain before finally stuttering out, "We-we better go somewhere safe Mari…."

"Adrien…."

"If we slip out the back, we should be able to make it home…."

"Adrien…."

"I'll make sure the hallway's clear first before…."

"Adrien! Chat! Would you please just transform so we can handle this?" Adrien froze at the door, his hand out stretched for the handle. He heard her call for her transformation and the room was bathed in a sparkling red light; turning revealed Ladybug in Marinette's place, opening the window, before tossing her yo-yo out. She looked back over her shoulder.

Decidedly, the human known as Adrien was no longer working.

"Kitty, it would be completely awesome if you could kindly assist me with this akuma." He blinked and shook his head.

"You… you…!"

"Not the time kitty. We'll talk afterwards. Meet me as soon as you transform." Ladybug pulled on the yo-yo and flew out over the street, trying to catch up with the akuma. Adrien shook his head before calling, "Plagg, claws out!" He followed his lady with an eagerness to end this akuma faster than they'd ever finished one before.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Notes: *Slides this your way before taking off running, a devious grin crossed on my lips* Here ya go! I don't like keeping people waiting (even though my sister says I'm weak) and I had time to kill this morning considering my job was put on a delay due to weather. I really wished it would've snowed so we could've had a day off. *Le sigh* Guess I'll handle a two hour pause. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 17**

Ladybug touched down on the hardwood floor of the school just in time for her transformation to wear off. Tikki fluttered down to her open palms exhausted. She let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we made it back," the kwami noted. Marinette nodded and walked her over to her gym bag where she had a stash of cookies waiting. "You and Chat were excellent today. I think that's the fastest we've ever handled an akuma."

"That was all his doing. I've never seen him so… determined before."

"Well, getting a chance to talk to you probably had something to do with it." She smiled and opened the bag, before placing Tikki down gently so she could eat and regain her strength. As she was crouched on the floor, she heard the sound of feet landing behind her and there was a flash of green, followed by a loud groan.

"Duuude," a new voice complained, "What in the world was that? You've never pushed your powers that hard before."

"Plagg," Adrien answered evenly, "There is a wheel of Camembert in the gym bag. Go get it and join Tikki or something." Marinette gulped. His voice was even but it sent a chill up her spine. Plagg, his kwami she assumed, grumbled again before taking off to eat his cheese. She stood and straightened herself, ready for whatever was about to happen.

Well, almost half ready.

Before she could move, there was suddenly a set of arms around her waist. She jerked but relaxed, realizing that he'd come and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face against the exposed part of her neck. Heat rushed to her face. "You found me," he whispered against her skin. "You really found me." Marinette turned her head a bit to smile at him when he raised his head to look at her again. "When did… when did you figure it out?"

She turned around to face him completely. Her arms rose up to wrap around his neck and he leaned his forehead on to hers. "Don't be mad," she breathed. His eyes met hers and saw the hesitation that was there. Briefly, he placed a gentle kiss on her nose.

"I can never be mad at you my lady."

"Uh… well…I kind of… figured it out…last Friday."

Friday. The first time they'd kissed.

He nearly choked on his breath.

"What? How!?" Marinette smiled and playfully poked his nose.

"Well, Tikki explained it to me. Apparently there was some magic placed on the miraculouses when they were first created that makes it hard for anyone to figure out who the heroes are under the masks. It takes a series of events for the spell to be broken but… us falling in love helped."

Adrien shot her his best Chat smirk before resting his forehead back on hers. "So that's why," he breathed, "that's why you've been driving me crazy all day. The Chat Noir outfit, the hairstyle, the puns. You were doing it intentionally."

She looked abashed. "Guilty as charged." He laughed. Leaning his face closer, he hovered to just above kissing. The proximity alone made her dizzy and her eyes drooped to half-lidded and her hands, laced together behind his neck, tightened. "You know, that's not very fair Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Why should you be the only one to drive me crazy?"

It was her turn to chuckle. "Because we both know who runs this relationship kitty and if you even think of denying me this kiss right now, I _will_ throw you off the Eiffel Tower the next time we're there."

"Why Mari. I wouldn't dream about denying you a kiss. Even if there are nicer ways to ask."

"Adrien?"

"Yes my lady?"

"Shut-up." She had to stand on tip-toe to close the distance but it was so worth it. Her lips crushed hard into his and there was no innocent kiss here; it was like being deprived of water for days and finally, _finally_ getting to drink. He pulled her closer by pulling lightly on her hips. She tightened her arms just so slightly on his neck and unlaced her fingers to drag them softly through his hair. Opening her mouth, she implored him to do the same. He obliged. She tasted of cookies, the snack she'd had before their lessons had started, and sweetness and everything that made the world right. Marinette remembered how well he'd responded on Friday when she nibbled his lip and so, she conducted a repeat performance, nibbling just enough to force a soft, needy groan from his throat.

Adrien moved his hands to behind her back. He wanted to do more but he also was afraid; afraid that the moment would be broken, afraid that he would hurt her, afraid that he would be over stepping his boundaries when this was all just starting for the both of them.

They broke apart after several seconds, panting heavily. He looked her over like he'd done on Friday. Only this time, he saw the full effect his kiss had had. Her face was flushed red, her eyes still half-lidded and her lips swollen, slightly colored, and looking very, very alluring again; he licked his own briefly. Their hearts raced. Without a word, they moved together, their lips crushing hard into each other, hands exploring, soft noises rising from their throats. He led her backwards until she hit a solid wall. He raised her up then so that she no longer had to stand on tip-toe but now had to wrap her legs tightly around his waist. She just fit so _perfectly_ against him. She was soft and strong, beauty and power, all in one tiny package that he relished feeling beneath him after so long. He knew he would love the girl under the mask but he'd never imagined the feeling would have been this powerful.

They broke apart, finally, after several more minutes passed. She smiled down at him, taking a hand to stroke his cheek before cupping his redden face and peppering gentle kisses on his forehead, cheeks, and nose. He smiled up at her.

"Do you know how long I've wanted to do that?"

"What? Kiss Ladybug?"

Adrien smiled softly but gently sat her back on her feet. His hands didn't come from behind her though. The room was quiet and that silence was loud on their ears; it mingled with the ragged edge of their breathing. "Yes," he admitted. "I did want to kiss Ladybug. More accurately, I wanted to kiss the girl underneath that mask." He leaned his forehead on hers. "Marinette, the first time I met Ladybug, I realized that she was amazing. The second time, I realized that no matter who was under the mask, I would love them unconditionally." This time, he kissed her forehead. "Every day since then," he kissed her cheek, "I've dreamed of finding out," he kissed her other cheek, "who you were under that mask," he kissed her nose, "so I could fulfill that promise." He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips, ending his journey. Marinette returned it. When he pulled back, he saw a smile on her face but he noticed it didn't reach her eyes. They were filled with worry. Adrien raised his hands to pull her into a tight embrace. She nuzzled her face into his chest. "I know… I know with the way Chat and I acted, it's… it's hard to believe that what I'm saying is true but I want to prove it to you Marinette. I want to prove that you're the one I love, not Ladybug. So," he smiled, moving to raise her head by gently grabbing her chin and turning her to face him.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you go on a date with me?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: I completely wasted my DBZ voice (a joke from AO3). I'm so sorry. I was just writing getting ready for the fluff and suddenly Adrien shows up and is like "Yeah no..." Current status: Upset with sunshine son. Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 18**

Alya squealed so loudly that Marinette had to yank the phone away from her ear as quickly as possible. "GIRL! OH MY GOSH! CONGRATS! YOU DID IT! YOU FINALLY DID IT!"

The half-Asian girl smiled, bringing the phone back to herself when her friend's excitement died enough to be tolerable. Mari could feel her _vibrating_ through the phone. It prompted her to roll her eyes as she inserted the needle into the skirt and pulled.

"I didn't do anything," she informed her, "That was all pretty much Adrien's doing. He's the one who asked me out."

"Yeah but it took you finally getting the courage to _flirt_ with him to get him to do it."

"W-when did I ever flirt?" She finished the line and cut the thread, sitting the finished second layer down on her desk. Tikki sat watching her. Mari shrugged her shoulders and made a face at the phone which prompted a giggle from the little red kwami.

"How about every single week since this ball thing was announced? The date…."

"That you tricked me on."

"The dancing…."

"That he volunteered for without my prompting."

"All last week…."

"No one flirted! We were having a tiny bit of a crisis."

"Monday…."

"He wasn't there Monday or Tuesday for me to flirt with."

"Fine. Then how about all today when you dressed like Chat Noir, stood up to Chloé, wore your hair differently, made puns, and confessed your feelings for him?" Mari flinched. Maybe she _shouldn't_ have spilled the beans about everything that had transpired that afternoon (save for the transforming, akuma fighting, and intense make-out session afterwards and the fact that she hadn't technically confessed her feelings to him).

"O-okay so I flirted today but today was the _only_ time I did." Alya snickered on the other side.

"Right and I'm the Queen of Sheba. So what are you going to wear? Has he told you where you'll be going yet? Come on girl, I want the deets!"

Marinette chuckled and stood up, moving to go stand on her balcony. "Look, as soon as I know something, I'll be sure to tell you. Until then, we'll both be left in the dark which is what I think he wants. I think he's been planning a date for some time now."

"Then your outfit is going to have to be extra special." There was the sound of something crashing in the background and a rather loud cry which prompted Alya to sigh. "Look, the monkeys are at it again. I have to go but if he contacts you tonight, text me! Love ya! Bye!"

"Love you too and bye," she said, disconnecting the phone. Winter was finally beginning to take a hold over the city and she shivered in it, her breath appearing in tiny white clouds before disappearing into nothing. She reached for the old blanket she kept there for special occasions and nights like this. It nearly drowned her with its size. Being warm though gave her no complaint as she leaned on her railing. Across the roof tops, the glow of the city rose up, giving it an eerie, mystical tone that she sighed in wonder of; if Tikki wasn't so tired from the earlier akuma, she would be half tempted to do an impromptu patrol (if only to swing by the Agreste manor and say hello to a certain boy).

Speaking of a certain boy…. Marinette squinted in to the darkness, certain that there was something moving along the rooftops. It was sprinting. She kept her eyes on it, afraid it was an akuma, but relaxed as he got closer, revealing himself to be Chat Noir, jumping and dodging over and around the rooftops of Paris. She waved him down once he was close enough. Without any hesitation, he jumped, landing perfectly on her balcony. Marinette smirked at him. "Why Chat Noir! What an unexpected pleasure."

"Good evening purrincess," he purred. Marinette stifled a giggle. Chat took a breath and said, "Plagg, claws in," releasing his transformation in a glow of green. Plagg grumbled something about being abused before he flew past Marinette with a soft "Evenin'." He entered the hatch to her room to snuggle Tikki. He smirked at her before nearly skipping to her side, wrapping her in a hug, and kissing the top of her head but on the blanket instead of hair.

"What are you doing here? Didn't we just see each other a couple of hours ago?" Adrien smirked and laid his cheek on the top of her head.

"Yes but I really wanted to see you again." She paused. Something in his voice didn't sound right. She pulled back out of his embrace; instead of looking upset, he continued to smile at her but it was an empty smile- it certainly did not reach his eyes. The look tugged at her heart. Marinette bit her lip. Without warning, she opened her arms as wide as they could go with the blanket, wrapping him in the tightest hug she could, and effectively having them both swallowed by the cloth. He chuckled at the motion but wrapped his arms around her again to make them more comfortable.

"What's wrong?" He sighed.

"I should've known better than to hide it from you uh?"

"You got that right. So… spill." He looked at her sheepishly.

"It's just…," he sighed again, "It's just that… well, I'm going to be gone again for the rest of this week and into next week."

Her face paled. She blinked up at him, a small gasp on her lips. She swallowed hard and hugged him tighter. "A job?" He nodded.

"In Italy. Father wants me there personally."

"So that means…."

"It means I won't get to take you on that date after all. Not before the ball at least." She swallowed.

"I will wait forever if needed," she whispered, "but Ladybug… Ladybug's going to have to fight alone." He nodded solemnly.

"I know. I didn't want to have to think about it but… I can't get out of it. Nathalie's tried talking to him but he won't back out of it." She nodded and pulled away from him. The space she'd occupied suddenly was very cold and he shivered in response; she didn't notice though as she started pacing back and forth on her balcony.

"We're going to have to do something," she contemplated, "Hawkmoth can't get any idea that you're Chat Noir and it'll be too much of a coincidence for you and him to up and vanish at the same time. I'll be alright since I'm the stronger fighter out of the two of us…."

"Hey," he pouted.

"… and I can do the purifying. If he comes after you…." She spun, her eyes blazing with fire. He instinctively leaned away. "If he comes after you, you might be able to stop the akuma but you won't have the ability to purify it or contain it until I get there. We have to come up with an excuse for Chat Noir to be away."

"Why don't we tell them I'm sick and I'm at home recouping?"

"That could work. I'm sure Mrs. Chamack probably wouldn't mind posting a special bulletin on the news especially if Ladybug asks her too; after all, she did say she wanted to help us after we saved Manon."

"What about the Ladyblog?"

Marinette paused. "Alya would certainly help." She sighed and threw the blanket off. Heading for the trap door, she motioned for him to wait there as she leaned in and called for Tikki. The little red kwami flew up to join her, followed closely by Plagg. "Sorry to bother you two but…."

"I know," Tikki chirped. "Plagg filled me in downstairs. I'm guessing you have a plan?" She nodded and quickly explained that, unfortunately, Ladybug was going to have to make an impromptu visit to Mrs. Chamack and Alya's residences if only to get the news out as quickly as possible. Tikki nodded. "I'm good to go now. As long as we don't stay out too long, I should be fine." She nodded and smirked at Adrien.

"You better go home then. This isn't going to work if half of Paris sees the missing party in question jumping around rooftops when he's supposed to be laid up in bed." He nodded as well. Before calling on his transformation, Adrien gently grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He leaned down enough to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"I knew you'd figure this out," he whispered, pulling back, "I was at home stressing about it for nearly two hours and you figured it out in a minute." She smirked and playfully poked his nose.

"Of course I did. Now scat cat." He chuckled and started to leave. This time, it was she who quickly caught his hand and spun him around for one final kiss.

 _Why are we not official again_? Adrien mused. When they pulled apart, her smirk was bigger than ever. "Good night kitty. Get well soon."

"Because you wish it, so it shall be my lady." He stroked her cheek before tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear. "I promise Mari. I'm going to make this the best and fastest photoshoot I've ever done. I'll come back to you soon."

"Don't actually make yourself sick in the process. Take all the time you need you silly cat."

"Alright, I'll be careful. Good night princess." He turned again, calling out "Plagg, claws out!" and was gone in a single leap from her railing. Marinette waited until he was out of sight before transforming as well and heading in the opposite direction- straight towards Alya's home.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Notes: JESUS CHRISTMAS THIS CHAPTER WAS A PAIN TO WRITE. I'M SO SORRY FOR HOW MUCH IT SUCKS.**

 **Chapter 19**

Alya shut her door with a sigh. Her parents were finally home after being gone for two hours so her twin sisters had them to mess with and not her. This was the perfect time for her to catch up on the Ladyblog; after all, she was still editing the video of the akuma attack from earlier this afternoon and had promised to have it posted by this evening. She started for her desk but a light tapping on her window caused her to jump and spin, searching for the source of the noise; considering of course that she lived at the very top of a building. A quick search revealed a rather surprising face hanging upside down outside her window.

Ladybug smiled and waved.

Alya immediately died.

 _Fangirl mode: engaged!_

She ran to the window, nearly tripping over her book bag, some notebooks, a pile of clothes, and a stray pencil or two before flinging the thing open. "Ladybug," she practically squealed. The superheroine smiled brighter.

"Good evening Ladyblogger. Mind if I come in for a minute? There's something I need you to do for me." Alya moved aside in an instant. Ladybug flipped into the window, landing gracefully on the floor, before rising and tugging on her yo-yo's string to pull it inside. She placed it on her hip. The brown haired girl was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. Ladybug rarely spoke to her but when she did, she knew she was in for something awesome.

"Let me get my cellphone real quick!" Alya started to move around her but Ladybug stretched out a hand to stop her. She froze. Looking up, she saw that Ladybug's expression was not good.

 _Fangirl mode: disengaged._

"Alya," she started slowly, "can you hold off on the cellphone for a second? I really have a big favor to ask of you." The girl in question straightened. She motioned to her desk chair for her to sit in while she took the bed. Ladybug took it gratefully. Once situated, the spotted-heroine continued with, "Look, Chat Noir took some pretty nasty hits from that akuma earlier today."

"Really? He looked fine to me," she mused, thinking back to the footage she'd recorded. Ladybug smiled sadly.

"Yes, unfortunately our… powers keep us from feeling pain but once we return to normal, we can feel every bit of it." _Liar. You've never felt a bit of the pain you've received from an akuma. … Alya's a civilian and doesn't need to know that though._ "Point is: he took some hits and now he's sick. I need you to post it on the Ladyblog that he's officially out of commission for… for the next week." Alya raised an eyebrow. Was something going on in Adrien's life that he was going to be out of the picture for the next week? Nino hadn't texted her yet which meant that he probably didn't know but….

"Wait, so does that mean you're going to be protecting Paris on your own?"

Ladybug flinched, clenched her fists over her knees, and nodded solemnly. Breathing, she replied with, "Yes I am." Alya stood suddenly and came to her, placing both hands on her shoulder. She tensed and sat up straight. There was a dangerous fire in the young newswoman's eyes.

"Tell me what I can do to help," she commanded. She blinked in response.

"Just-just make the post about Chat being down and out."

"Or," she contemplated, "we can make an official video right here. Well, not right here because the Internet and dangers and what not but I can meet you downstairs in five minutes and we can go somewhere to make an official video. I know people will believe it more if they see the actual Ladybug saying it instead of this fan blog." Ladybug smiled and relaxed her shoulders.

"Thank-you so much. I knew coming to you was the right thing to do." Alya smirked. She stood then, getting out of her way so she could return to the window, and head down to the street below. She turned to grab her jacket, phone, and keys before leaving herself, telling her parents that Marinette had called and needed her help with a part of her project ASAP (which technically she wasn't lying about since Marinette had come to ask her to help with a project; just not the one her parents were thinking about) and that she would be back in a few minutes. She took the elevator down before coming out on the street. Ladybug was in a nearby alley. If Alya didn't know to look for her, she would have never… ugh… _spotted_ her in the shadows. She jogged to meet her, looking quickly around to find the street deserted, before waving her off in the general direction of the park near the school.

"The park should be empty right now. It'll be a good place to record if we can get close enough to a light source." The dark haired hero nodded and started down the street. Alya followed and fidgeted. Walking next to Marinette was one thing; walking next to her hero was a completely different thing even if the two girls were the same person. If the superhero noted any of her slight distress, she didn't say anything.

"You know," Ladybug commented a few minutes later into their walk, "I would've thought you would've been all over the chance to interview the namesake of your blog." Alya grimaced.

"Normally you'd be right. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic to be walking with you right now but…" She blushed a bit and looked off to the side. Rubbing a hand across her nose to warm it, she gave her a soft smile, "But I'm not heartless you know. I know you're worried about Chat and I can't help but be a little worried for _you_. I know you're a boss and everything but with Chat being out of commission, you're going to be in a lot of danger. Why aren't there any other superheroes?" Ladybug shrugged.

"I don't know. Admittedly it would make like far easier for the both of us if there were more."

"Right. Anyway, now's just not the time for an interview." Alya winked. "But you so owe me an exclusive after this."

"Deal."

They fell into silence again. Alya bit her bottom lip, staring down at the ground as she walked, lost in thought and truly worried for her spotted friend; she sent up a silent prayer to whoever was in charge that Marinette was going to be alright in the next week.

Marinette collapsed into her chair. Her transformation wore off almost immediately and she leaned back, groaning up at the ceiling. Tikki eyed her sadly. "Marinette…."

"I'm alright Tikki," she sighed, sitting up to smile softly at her. "Just tired is all. I didn't think it was going to take us so long to get the message out." The kwami giggled.

"Yeah, Alya's just a stickler for perfection."

"Yeah but I didn't expect her to be _that_ much of a perfectionist." Tikki took a bite out of a cookie from her stash.

"Do you think she's uploaded it yet?"

"I don't know. She might not have. After all, we only left her about thirty minutes ago."

"Yeah but she went straight home and said she wasn't going to do any editing on it." Marinette nodded and reached for her mouse, clicking for the blog to open from the icon she'd placed on her desktop. It opened immediately. The top post, in big bold letters, read, "ATTENTION LADYBLOG FANS! IMPORTANT NEWS FROM LADYBUG!" Marinette swallowed nervously and clicked the video. It started with a shot of Alya. She didn't smile at the screen like she normally did; instead she looked rather seriously at the camera as she began:

"What's up peeps? Alya here. I've got some big news. Actually, I don't but it'll be better if you hear it from the source."

She walked towards the camera, picking it up and turning to face her, Ladybug, sitting on a bench. She smiled sadly at the camera. "I have exclusive news from Ladybug, right here and now, so listen up Parisians."

"Thanks Alya," video her started. She looked seriously into the camera after a breath and said, "Citizens of Paris, I am going to need your help more than ever now. My partner Chat Noir has fallen ill and won't be able to assist me for at least a week. During this time, Hawkmoth might try to do something dangerous. Please, I'm imploring to each of you: help your friends, family, even strangers if you see someone feeling down; together, I'm sure we can put a stop to his akumatizing even if it's only long enough for Chat to get back on his feet."

Marinette stopped the video. There wasn't much on it afterwards. Alya turned it back on herself, said some encouraging words, before the video was shut off. She smiled at the quality and rubbed Tikki's head. "She did a good job. I'm glad we were able to get it out."

"What about Ms. Chamack?"

"I'll call her in the morning. Alya said she'd shoot her the video file to have it air as soon as possible." Marinette bit her lip and stared at the computer screen. Her stomach twisted painfully. Tikki, observant as ever, noticed and flew up to pat her forehead in return.

"What's wrong Marinette?"

"To be honest Tikki," she said slowly, "I don't know but… I'm scared. Something just… something just doesn't _feel_ right about this situation. I feel like Hawkmoth might try something… maybe releasing that news wasn't a good idea." Tikki nodded.

"Yes but… if you didn't, Adrien's identity might be at stake. Even if Hawkmoth is some distance away, he's probably really searching for the miraculouses so he'll be watching Paris as much as possible. Even if the chances are _slim_ that he'd notice the two of them missing at the same time, you've at least taken his eyes off of Chat long enough to keep him safe. Adrien's not going to be able to defend himself alone if Hawkmoth decides to follow him to Italy or something."

"Yes but…I don't know Tikki. I'm still going to worry."

"Worry isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"You're right," Mari sighed, giving her a kiss on the forehead. She stood from the table and headed over to her dress, sliding her pin cushion on to her wrist as she ready to start the next layer, "I just hope that what I'm feeling is wrong and everything's going to be alright. After all, I'm Ladybug. Maybe I'll end up lucky or something."


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Notes: Calamity, this got dark fast. I'm so sorry for the depressing that's about to happen. Also, it's still blowing my mind that this story is no where near the one-shot fanfiction I dreamed up a couple of months ago. Enjoy...?**

 **Chapter 20**

Somewhere in a little townhouse in Paris, laid a woman sobbing into her mattress, hot, fat tears streaming down her face. Her hair was a disheveled mess. Her eyes, normally a pleasant brown color, were swollen and red just like the cheeks underneath them; angry claw marks made by her own fingers traced down the sides of her face. She cuddled deep into the blankets surrounding her. Nothing brought her comfort. The nightmares were still there. They ran her life, deprived her of sleep, chased off everyone she either knew or loved. She thought she'd gotten over the loneliness. She thought the medicine had been helping.

It wasn't.

She'd woken again, screaming in the night, thrashing against the covers she now coveted as her lifeline, gasping for air as the screams lessened. Her throat became horribly dry and miserable.

She wasn't calming like normal. Her heart kept racing and she turned over, squeezing the bedsheets beneath her. Weariness settled over her like an anvil. Her shoulders and head rolled back a bit; they didn't go far but they did sink into the pillows and mattress just a bit more.

A flash of the dream and reality crossed in front of her eyes.

She saw her husband, a strong man with an angular jaw, sharp nose, and narrow eyes, and even though he looked homely to some, he couldn't have been more handsome to her. His sharp features often scared people. There couldn't have been anything that was more untrue. He was the kindest, happiest man in the world. One of her hands rested on his, the other on her swollen stomach. She was the happiest woman in the world right next to him.

He smiled at her brightly.

There was a jolt and it was so forceful that her world went black. Glass shattered, metal twisted. The world was deafeningly loud then it wasn't; there was nothing and all was silence. She woke up screaming as hands clutched at her, strapping her down to something, her middle was on fire! The fire wouldn't die. It burned and burned and burned and all she could do was scream.

Waking for a third time, she found herself no longer strapped down but instead, was lying in a bed, her mother worriedly eyeing her and calling for a nurse. Tears had welled in her eyes then too. She knew. She just knew. Her sobs were inconsolable then just as they were now. She tore at the IV's in her arms and, again, hands appeared to hold her down. Everything went dark again.

The fourth time she woke, she was calm enough to hear what had happened.

They'd been hit by a reckless driver.

The driver blamed her husband for pulling out in front of him.

Before anything could be done, the driver decided to escape to another country. No one could find him.

No one bothered to look and all she was left with were her nightmares and fears and loneliness and all things related to darkness that she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to pull herself out of again. Time didn't help. If anything, it only made everything worse.

Anger flared in her stomach.

It wasn't fair!

He shouldn't have gotten away. _They all_ let him get away!

She shouldn't be the one suffering. He was probably off living life normally while she was being haunted by the ghosts of the past. She just wanted relief.

Her head spun at the unfair feeling.

It made her sick.

Turning over, she reached for the trash can she left by her bed and retched into it.

It lasted for several minutes but afterwards, she wiped her mouth dry with the back of a hand.

Suddenly, she felt… better. Powerful. Her eyes glazed over as in her mind she heard a voice calmly greet her, "Nightmare, I am Hawkmoth. I will give you the power to seek the revenge on those that constantly haunt your dreams but in return, I need you to do something for me."

A twisted smile crossed her lips.

"Of course Hawkmoth."

Then all was darkness as the akuma finally took her over.


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Notes: *slides out second chapter to make-up for the previous one.* I don't think this one is much of an improvement though... Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 21**

Several days had passed since the announcement of Chat Noir's lack of health; true to her word, Alya had sent Mrs. Chamack the video file and it had made the air almost immediately resulting in a mixed bag of reactions. In class, some, like Chloe and Sabrina, had been ecstatic that Chat was out of the picture for a while and Ladybug was going to be the shining light. Everyone else had been concerned like Alya. There was talk about ways to help Ladybug if an akuma attacked. Adrien had smiled. He'd patted Marinette's shoulder and stated that probably the best way to help her was to stay clear of an attack. She was going to have to defend herself. Alone. She didn't need civilians in the way. They all agreed solemnly but the talk didn't die down. Marinette sighed.

That was nearly a week ago now.

Adrien, Chat, had been gone for nearly a week and Ladybug eagerly waited his return. There had been no new akuma attacks since his departure but the sick, twisted feeling that something was going to happen was all too real and still too strong for her liking. It made her rub her stomach. She was going to have to talk to Tikki about it later that night. Maybe she really was just over thinking the situation.

From the darkened roads below, there came the sound of multiple ambulances running all at once. They ran normally which wasn't odd. What was was the pure quantity of them. Ladybug blinked.

That wasn't right.

It sounded like most, if not _all_ , the ambulances in Paris were out and running. She stood from where she'd started to take a break and tossed her yo-yo to the nearest building, swinging off into the darkness. She ran and jumped, ducked and rolled her way across the skyline until she came across the scene where most of the lights were coming from; it oddly enough turned out to be the front of the nearest police station. People milled around, looking on confused. She landed amongst the confusion and ran up to one of the nearest emergency workers. He didn't notice her at first. He was busy motioning crews through, each carrying a twitching, screaming body. She winced against the sound. "Excuse me. What's going on," she directed at him. The firefighter turned, a little surprised, and smiled upon realizing who it was.

"Ladybug! Thank goodness you're here. We could really use your help." He motioned inside. "We got a call from a couple of guys inside, saying they were being attacked by someone putting everyone to sleep. As far as we can tell, the people that were affected immediately fell asleep and began convulsing." He paused. "This may sound weird but… but I think it's like they're having a _nightmare_." Ladybug stared at another officer being brought out, completely anchored to a body-board, twitching like a madman, and screaming just like the previous people. She nodded.

"This is definitely Hawkmoth's doing. I have to find that akuma as quickly as possible."

"Great. We'll get everyone to the hospitals and keep an eye on them."

"Good and if you have any hands to spare, let's get those spectators inside too. I don't want anyone else to fall victim to the akuma…."

A scream rang out somewhere to their right, causing all heads in attendance to turn towards the sound. There was a silent, bright blast of white light and someone else screamed; everyone started to run away from the akuma in question as she stalked towards them. She raised her hand and fired a blast. Ladybug watched in dismay as the person who was hit rolled their eyes back and fell to the ground immediately, twitching, and screaming. She laughed maniacally. A first look at her revealed a person in a completely black outfit with wild, grayish toned hair that snaked into the air from her head. Her mask was completely black. Two points dropped down from it like snake fangs; the tips were painted a deep purple. Her eyes were pointed but wild. Purple circled around from her shoulders and hips, down to her feet and hands, almost looking like smoke. She continued forward, still laughing. Ladybug shoved the firefighter next to her out of the way as a blast of her magic came flying at them.

"Get out of here," she ordered, pulling off her yo-yo and spinning it to act as a shield. He scrambled away and out of sight. Once he was clear, she made her move, running off to the left, still using her yo-yo as a shield. She dropped herself behind an ambulance. Readying herself, she shot a look around the front. The akuma had moved some distance forward, still shooting at anyone and everyone still around. She rolled out. A quick toss wrapped her weapon around her hand and Ladybug gave it a tug. This jerked her back. A blast of white went wide and up towards a building before hitting the top harmlessly. The akuma turned. She twisted her wrist to get a solid hold on the line, yanking as hard as she could. Ladybug cried out as she was pulled forward. Her chin nearly collided with the ground but she caught herself before pulling back on the yo-yo. By then, the akuma had gotten herself free.

"You won't stop me Ladybug," she screamed, "I am Nightmare and all of Paris will suffer!"

"No one has to suffer. I can help you!"

"Help me? No one will help me! And with your little black cat not here either, neither will they help you!" Nightmare raised a hand, sending a blast towards the spotted heroine. She gritted her teeth and dodged, sending another toss of the yo-yo her way. Nightmare dodged as well and returned with another blast. She spun her weapon for a shield. The deflected blast hit the side of a car, setting off the alarm. She kept the yo-yo spinning, deflecting each blast, but moving forward until she was in range of Nightmare. Ladybug turned so that her free hand could swing a punch. The akuma dodged and sent one back; when that missed, she followed it around with a kick which was caught with the string of the yo-yo. The red heroine twisted which sent her flipping back. Nightmare didn't lose her balance like she'd hoped and managed to land a solid hit on Ladybug's jaw which sent her flying back instead. With her non-combat hand, she shot a blast of her magic. Ladybug rolled behind a car. She gasped for breath and rubbed her jaw from where the hit landed. This was so odd. Nightmare was right though; no one was coming to protect her back like normal or help her at all. She gritted her teeth. Lucky Charm was her only hope now. "Come out, come out little Ladybug," the villain sing-songed. Ladybug didn't move. She needed an opening to use the Charm without the risk of being hit. Chat usually acted as her distraction while she did it but now… now she'd have to figure out how to do it on her own. Stealing herself, she looked quickly around to find something, _anything_ , when her eyes landed squarely on a loose piece of metal, she reached for it, chucking it off to her left. Nightmare immediately spun and went to find the source of the sound.

Ladybug sprinted right once the coast was clear.

She released her yo-yo and chucked it skyward, shouting, "Lucky Charm!" It spun. There was a release of red sparks and then they solidified, falling into her out stretched hands as a… "A mirror? What in the world am I…?"

Ladybug jerked. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed to the ground. In her ears was the ringing of laughter as she completely blacked out.

"Excellent Nightmare," Hawkmoth praised. From his lair, he could see everything. He saw the blast hit Ladybug square in the back. He saw how her eyes rolled back in her head as she slumped unconscious to the ground. This was the moment he'd so waited for for so long. At last. At last! The earrings of creation were his! "Take them! Take her miraculouses and bring them to me!"

"As you wish Hawkmoth," she smirked. Nightmare sauntered forward. The air was oddly silent save for the screams of her victims behind her. Only Ladybug remained silent, completely still on the ground where she laid. If anything, it just looked like she was sleeping peacefully which annoyed the akuma to no end. What was the point of giving people nightmares if the one who really needed to have one didn't suffer a bit? No matter. She'd done her job. Once she'd had the earrings, Hawkmoth would let her keep her powers and she would be free to hunt down the monster that had killed her husband and child without any limitations. Her shadow, casted by nearby street lamps, crossed over the hero's face and it grew larger as she reached down to take the earrings.

Suddenly, she was hit in the forehead by a spinning green thing. It hit with such force that she was sent spinning head-over-heels twenty or so feet away before she managed to brace her feet and land solidly.

Looking up with a scowl only revealed that her prey was gone.

No!

Ladybug was gone!


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Notes: I'm sorry about the previous chapters! Have an extra long one as an apology!**

 **Chapter 22**

Adrien's cellphone rang obnoxiously as soon as his feet touched down on the solid ground of the Paris airport and he'd taken a second to switch it on. There were over fifty messages and calls between two numbers. Both he recognized as Nino and Alya. There were several unheard messages left on his phone and he put it to his ear, wondering what could be so important that they would leave that many messages. His heart pounded in his chest. _Please don't be about…._

"You have thirty new messages," an electronic voice said to him, "First message."

"Adrien? Dude? Where are you man? We need you here like yesterday. Ladybug's in trouble dude. Hurry up and get here!"

"Next message."

"Adrien? It's Alya. Look, Nino and I know you're Chat Noir and Mari's Ladybug. We need you to get here soon. Ladybug got hit by an akuma and we can't break the magic that's on her. Please hurry!"

"Next message."

"Seriously dude. You have to be still up in the air to not have gotten these. We've taken Mari to Master Fu's place. No hospitals. Alya's covering for Mari and saying she's sleeping over at her place. We really need you bro. She's not waking up."

"Next message."

"Chat, Adrien, please, _please_. As soon as you get this, please get here."

The messages continued in this fashion for several more minutes. With each one, his face grew paler and his breathing more ragged. He had to go. He had no idea what was going on but Ladybug, Marinette, needed him.

"Adrien?" A hand reached out and touched his shoulder lightly. He jumped at the sudden contact. Spinning revealed the sharp features of Nathalie, his father's personal assistant and his guardian. Her lips were pursed and brow knitted as she eyed him, worry clearly sparkling in her eyes. "Adrien? Is something the matter?" He licked his lips.

"Y-yeah. One of my friends has fallen ill. I need to go see her before I go home." The older woman clutched at the clipboard in her hand, stood as tall and poised as she normally did, but gave him a soft nod.

"Alright. Your driver will make sure you get there. We will pick you up in…."

"I don't know how long I'm going to be there," he cut in. "I'll call when I'm ready. I promise." She hesitated. After a few seconds, she nodded again.

"Alright." He could kiss her. Instead, he opted for a quick hug before running out of the airport. She watched with mild amusement at his childlike innocence but followed after him.

Adrien nearly broke the door to Master Fu's shop upon following the directions to get there from one of the phone messages. He'd had the Gorilla drop him off at Marinette's bakery before waiting until the coast was clear and _sprinting_ down the sidewalk. Plagg grumbled something about being jostled so roughly and not getting the respect he deserves as a god but Adrien was too focused and busy to worry about what his friend had to say. His breaths came out ragged. He was good for distance but it was rare that he had to sprint in such a manner. Someone came out of the backroom as he tried to regain his breath.

"Oh thank God! Adrien!" He looked up. Standing in front of him was Alya, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a white tank top and sweats, and a broken-hearted expression crossed on her face. She quickly moved to him and embraced him in a hug. He jerked. Unsure of what to do, he awkwardly patted her back until she regained herself and held him back at arm's length, "Look. There's not much time to explain. Marinette got hit by an akuma named Nightmare while you were gone. She's been asleep since yesterday but we can't take her to a hospital because of the whole superhero thing. Tikki says she's experiencing a nightmare because that's what the akuma's power does but since she was hit in the suit, she was able to leave a little bit of her magic behind to ensure that we could go in and break the spell. Nino and Master Fu have been trying to get in but Tikki thinks that only Plagg will be able to because he's her other half."

"Why hasn't anyone tried Tikki," he asked quickly. Alya shook her head.

"Can't. Take those earrings off Mari and we've lost her for good. Tikki anchored the magic to them." He nodded in response.

"Show me." Alya stood to the side and motioned to the door she'd come through. Inside the room he walked in was dark. There was a heady scent of incense burning all around them, it made his head spin, and softly there was the sound of chanting. Two people sat kneeling on the ground. One he recognized immediately even though he wasn't wearing his headphones or signature hat at this moment. The other was a shorter, nearly bald, gray haired man wearing a red Hawaiian shirt. Something tickled in the back of his memory but Adrien pushed it aside for now. He was more concerned with the figure lying on the floor more than anything.

Marinette lay on a bamboo mat looking no more than she had just fallen asleep there. Her face was pale and her hair spilled around her making her skin seem even whiter than it was. She was breathing rapidly. Other than this, there were no sounds that came from her and save for the occasional twitch, there was no other movement. Adrien approached her hesitantly. The chanting stopped.

"Bro," Nino exclaimed, standing to turn and hug him. Adrien returned it this time. "Dude, you don't know how good it is to see you. We've been trying but…."

"I know," he swallowed. "Alya filled me in." He turned to face the old man who had gotten to his feet by now and was watching them, his hands behind his back and his form hunched over a bit. Adrien moved from Nino. His eyes sparked with determination. "Master Fu?"

"Yes Chat Noir," he answered. "It is a pleasure to meet you once more. Thank-you for coming so quickly. You will need to transform for this to work but once you are ready, I will help guide you into Ladybug's dreams. From there, it will be up to you to figure out how to free her." Adrien nodded curtly. He opened the front of his shirt for Plagg to fly out. For once, the little kwami wasn't arguing; his eyes flashed equally as determined as his partner's and he gave a curt nod in response. Adrien raised his hand.

"Plagg, claws out!"

When the transformation was done, Chat Noir's tail switched back and forth but he followed Master Fu's continued directions, lying down next to Marinette. He took a steady breath. "I am going to have to put you in the same state as Ladybug. Once you are in, you will need to find her and stop the nightmare. That is all I can tell you. Being unable to get inside myself makes it difficult for me to tell you much more than that. Are you ready Chat Noir?" He took a breath and slid a gloved paw over a bit to gently grab Marinette's hand.

"I'm ready," he whispered. Master Fu nodded and began his chanting again. The smell of the incense and the sound of the chanting made his head spin again only this time, it was far more violent than when he'd first walked in. Slowly, the world started to fade away. The spinning grew more intense. Within seconds, Chat Noir was out, leaving the three people, and three kwamis, to watch in hope.

 _Marinette woke with a start. Her breathing was ragged, her hair matted to her forehead from sweating through her clothes and onto the sheets. Slowly, she regained control of herself and looked over at the nearest clock. Eight. It was eight in the morning. She groaned, flopping back on her bed. She didn't know what day it was nor did she care. Maybe her mom would let her skip school if she claimed to be sick. Her heartrate slowed more as she lay looking up at the ceiling._

 _A soft tapping came from her trap door. She rolled over enough to see who it was only to find her mother coming up the stairs. "Marinette? Sweetie? Are you ready to go?"_

" _Go," she asked, "Go where?" Sabine came into the room then, worry laced on her face. She wore black from the top of her head all the way down to her shoes. Her eyes were rimmed red from crying. She twisted a blotted, white handkerchief in her hands before hesitantly moving towards the bed, sitting on the edge to stroke her daughter's face._

" _Oh Marinette," she said softly and sadly, "I know it's hard to accept but… but we really should go and pay our respects." She motioned to the completely black outfit laid out on the chaise lounge. "Do you need any help getting dress?" Marinette was shocked but mutely shook her head. Sabine nodded in return. "Alright. I'll go back downstairs with your father. Come down when you're ready." The older woman stood to leave. Marinette continued to watch in shock as a fresh round of tears started down her cheeks._

 _When the door was shut, Marinette slowly climbed out of bed. Her whole body ached. She let out a hiss of pain and moved to the lounge slowly, picking up the clothing and sliding it on. "Tikki," she started, "what's going on? Mom never cries. She's always been so strong." Only silence met her ears. She looked around the room. "Tikki…?" No response. She was hesitant to leave without finding her kwami but her mother's shout from below reminded her that she had somewhere to go. Tikki was probably sleeping anyway. She didn't need to be disturbed._

 _Marinette hobbled her way downstairs to meet her parents. Sabine she'd already seen but Tom was even worse; his whole face was red and the tears weren't stopping from him. He was wearing an all-black tux. He never wore a tux. She nearly fell at the sight of him. He offered her a sad smile and then embraced her. "You ready sweetheart?" Steeling herself, Marinette nodded. They walked out the front of the bakery only to be met by Nathalie Sancoeur standing by the side of a black car. They'd only met a few times before, and she had been curt with her, but Mari understood that Nathalie was really a gentle person who cared very deeply for her charge. Her hair wasn't up in its usual bun. It was down, allowed to cascade around her shoulders which were covered by a very professional looking black dress. Her glasses did nothing to hide the fact that like her parents, she too had been crying. Nathalie smiled softly at them._

" _Hello Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, Marinette." Tom and Sabine greeted her but Marinette merely bit her bottom lip. It seemed so odd to see the woman she knew as being composed as looking like the sun will never shine again for her._

" _Nathalie," Sabine greeted softly. The two women hugged before Sabine climbed in, followed by Tom, who patted Nathalie's shoulder and her. She only offered a sad smile to the older woman. It felt appropriate for the moment. She shut the door once everyone was in. Nathalie sat up front, next to the driver. Marinette vaguely remembered that Adrien had called him the Gorilla at one point but if he had a real name, she didn't know or remember it. He didn't look at any of them. His hands stayed clenched on the steering wheel. He made no noise as he put the vehicle in drive and took off through the somber streets of Paris._

 _Everything appeared to be in hues of gray. The sky was dark and it was only a matter of time before the rain began to fall; it did, just as they arrived at the graveyard. Marinette swallowed hard. Nathalie got out and opened the door for her._

 _No one paid them any attention. There was a sea of people in black, getting ready to sit in their folding lawn chairs, some talking softly to each other, some hugging, some sobbing. Everyone was somber though. It was nearly tangible in the air and was so thick that Marinette felt her tongue swell at it. She hobbled her way out of the car. Tom caught her shoulders and she smiled up at him in thanks. He led her down the aisle. As they passed, more people began to notice their presence and the talking stopped as eyes landed on them. Marinette squirmed under the scrutiny. Tom ducked his head to whisper, "It's alright Marinette. They're not going to bother you. They have enough respect to not do it here or now." She nodded, confused. What in the world was going on? Bother her? Who were these people anyway? Why would they bother her?_

 _As they moved closer to the front, Marinette was suddenly approached by another figure. It was Alya, wearing black like everyone else. She hesitated for a second and then, after Tom removed his hands, caught her friend in a hug. Marinette too hesitated. Eventually she returned it, ducking her head into her neck. Alya's hands tightened around her._

" _Don't forget, this is your fault. It's all your fault Ladybug," she whispered._

 _Marinette stiffened and looked up, shocked. Alya smiled at her but it didn't reach her eyes. She returned to stand by Nino who merely glared at her. He didn't bother to approach her. Alya took his hand and she squeezed it reassuringly; neither of them looked happy but they certainly weren't looking at her like they were happy at all to see her. Her head spun. Tom looked at her concerned but said nothing, continuing to guide her forward. The way was clear for them. Marinette's eyes landed in the very front of her. On a stand at the front was a beautiful black colored casket; the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks. A funeral. She was here for a funeral. But who was dead? No one that she recognized. She swallowed hard, Tom gently pushing her forward. When they got to the front line of chairs, Tom stopped and released her. He motioned for her to go forward. Marinette hesitated. He motioned again._

" _Go on," he encouraged. "Say your good-byes Marinette." Her brow knitted in worry but she turned back, walking forward uneasily. The top was open for the viewing. She swallowed hard again. As she moved closer, she was finally able to see above the rim._

 _Everything in her went numb. His hair was slicked back, combed nice and neat, and he was wearing a suit his father probably tailored for him. His skin was pale, lips a light shade of pink, eyes closed, never to show their brilliant green again, and his hands rested on his stomach. Marinette began to shake. Slowly she reached forward, a hand gripping the side of the casket first, then gently, stroking the side of his face._

" _A-Adrien," she whispered. When there was no response, tears swelled in her eyes, and confusion, fear, anger, all twirled in her mind. "Adrien, Adrien!" She reached into the casket with both hands, trying to wake him up. A set of strong hands grabbed her shoulders and started to pull her back but she fought against them, clawing at his suit, trying to stay with him. "Adrien! Adrien!" Those looking said nothing; they just eyed her silently. "No! This isn't happening! Adrien! Adrien! No! Let me stay with him!" Her screams rang out over the area._

" _Marinette!" She continued screaming, ignoring the voice. Why? Why was Adrien dead? Why was he being buried? It couldn't be… Now she understood. Her. Alya had said it was her fault. Chat had died saving Ladybug. Adrien had died protecting her. It was her fault. The energy left her legs and she crumbled to the ground, covering her face with her hands, crying. Adrien._

 _Vaguely she heard someone shout, "Cataclysm!" Glass shattered around her but Marinette refused to raise her eyes. She didn't want to see. She just wanted to forget._

 _Someone knelt down in front of her, slowly, catching her in a hug. They nuzzled the top of her head. This was before they placed a gentle kiss there. "Marinette," the person breathed, "Mari, my lady, I'm alright. I'm alive. I'm alright." His voice was shaking; whoever he was, was just as scared as she was. Who wouldn't be after seeing Adrien Agreste of all people lying dead because of her? "Mari, please. Look at me. Nothing here is real. You got caught by an akuma. It's a nightmare Mari. It's not real. Look at me. Please."_

" _Adrien," she sobbed, "I killed him. It's my fault. Adrien. Adrien!"_

 _The hands around her tightened more. The person was no longer shaking but she could hear the sadness in his voice, "Mari, I'm right here. Look up and see for yourself."_

 _Slowly, she raised her head, and found herself in the arms of Chat Noir who was smiling down at her. She jerked back out of his reach. Her eyes were wide, the tears still falling._

" _Th-there's no way! I just saw you. You were dead!"_

 _He smiled softly at her and didn't move. "No Mari. I wasn't dead. The akuma caused it. She wanted you to see me dead." Slowly, he reached out a hand towards her. "See?" She hesitated but he didn't drop her hand; just as slowly as he had done, she reached out her own. It met with his, feeling the coolness of the leather on his hands, and the sharpness of his claws. He was real. He was solid. Marinette calmed enough to continue reaching, brushing his cheek softly, running a hand through his hair, touching his pseudo ears, cupping his face in her hands. The whole time, Chat merely smiled at her. When she stopped, he turned his head enough to kiss the palm of a hand. "See? I'm real. I'm here. I won't leave you like that. Ever. You will always have me by your side my lady." She took a shaky breath. Her heart swelled and she pulled him to her to kiss him roughly. Chat wrapped his arms around her waist, completely alright with the way she so desperately crushed her lips against his._

" _Chat, Adrien," she moaned when they broke apart. He leaned his forehead on hers and continued to smile. She squeezed his shoulders, tensing in his arms, "You're real. You're here."_

" _I'm real. I'm here." Her lip quivered. She kissed his nose._

" _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."_

" _For what?"_

" _You. Getting hurt. Dying." A small sob left her throat. "It'll be my fault. All my fault. I'm your partner yet I…"_

" _Mari," he soothed, "You can't keep worrying about something that hasn't happened. I know… God Mari, I know how scary the thought is. When I first realized I was in love with Ladybug, I had nightmares for days; I was so afraid I was going to mess up and hurt you or worse. I almost didn't want to transform again. I thought you would be better off without me." He pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her hair. "You changed that for me. The more we worked together, the more we just were, the more I realized that it wasn't alright to think you'd be better off without me; you told me time and time again that I was your partner and that you did need me." He breathed, kissing her cheek. "I love you Marinette and I promise, I'm not going to be leaving you at all. Not until we're old and gray haired. Do you believe me?"_

 _A soft smile crossed her lips, the worry and sadness melting away as her mind came to terms with the idea that everything was truly right with the world. "I…I believe you Adrien."_

 _He kissed her nose. "That's my lady. Ready to wake-up?" He stood and held out a hand which she took, standing with him. "I'll see you on the other side princess. I'll be right there when you wake up."_

" _You better be," she threatened. "I've had enough panic for one day."_

" _Then good morning Marinette." She closed her eyes at his words and waited for the sensation of waking to pull her back into reality._


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Notes: I'm ready for some fluff so the next couple of chapters are going to be fluffy as all get out. Also, before it becomes a thing, I wasn't going to use "Jade Turtle" as Nino's superhero name because I know that that's thelastpilot's name for him and I'm writing like a madwoman and don't want to bother asking and yeah... Point is, I'll come up with something different aight? Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 23**

Marinette's eyes fluttered open as she took a deep breath. Slowly, she flexed her toes and moved her legs, squeezed her hands, and then rolled her shoulders before opening her eyes completely. She was lying in a room she didn't recognize at first. A wave of nausea gripped her stomach. Breathing deep, the feeling passed without her having to find something to throw-up into. A face suddenly crossed in her vision and she had to blink rapidly to get them adjusted faster to the sudden intrusion.

Adrien was smiling down at her, his head framed with a halo of light by a singular light overhead. She smiled wearily at him.

"Did I… am I dead? I swear I'm seeing an angel."

"No but you gave us all a scare there princess," he sighed, "We almost thought you were going to go there." He reached an arm around her shoulders to help her sit up, offering a little cup of tea for her to sip. She took it and did so. She smiled at him again.

"Thanks kitty." She paused. "Who's 'we'?" He flinched and looked at her sheepishly.

"Uh… don't be mad but…."

"Marinette! You're finally awake!" Before she could respond or move, Adrien slipped the cup out of her hands and making her chest opened to be caught in a hug by Alya, who ran into her nearly at full force and tackled her back into the bamboo mat she was sitting on. Marinette was stunned. After a few moments of her sobbing into her shirt, she returned the hug. Looking up revealed the smiling face of Nino who waved a hand at her.

"Glad to see you're alright Mari," he commented. She nodded mutely. Alya held her back at arms' length, her eyes wide and teary, as she looked her over before nearly shouting, "Please don't ever do that again! Do you know how worried we've been? I've been covering for you and saying you're at my place but your parents aren't going to believe it much longer. We need to get you home." She nodded. It dawned on her slowly as she sat back up.

"Wait… Nino…Alya… why are you two here? Where is here anyway?" Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. Alya took a breath and Nino looked up at the ceiling.

"Uh… Alya and Nino," Adrien said slowly, "figured out who we are." Marinette blinked as the weight of the words suddenly hit her like a bolt of lightning. She gasped.

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry Mari," Alya cried. She clapped her hands in front of her face like a prayer and squeezed her eyes shut; she all but bowed to her best friend. "Please don't be mad. I found out the night you had the date with Chat Noir. I thought I left a notebook in your room and I wasn't far from your place so I just turned around to get it when I saw Chat land on your balcony. I was surprised but I called Nino and asked him to follow him because I wanted to know what Chat had to do with you and Nino didn't want to at first but I got him to and he followed him and saw him transform back to Adrien and we put two and two together but didn't say anything and…." Marinette sighed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Alya, calm down please. I understand." She blinked. The brown haired girl eyed her friend.

"You… you do?" Mari smiled softly.

"Look, I won't lie and say I'm not concerned but…." She ran a hand back through her hair. "But, I guess I was going to have to tell you eventually. There's really no point in stressing about it now." She took a breath, "But I will admit, it's a little scary with you two knowing. If Hawkmoth finds out…."

"Dude, Hawkmoth will have to go through us too to get to you Mari or your family or anyone else," Nino declared proudly. She eyed him confused until a small, red blur, followed by a black one, green one, and orange one, entered the room. Tikki smacked hard into her face.

"Mari!" Marinette giggled and reached up a hand to nuzzle the little kwami.

"Tikki!"

"Oh Mari! You had me so worried." She flew back enough to smile brightly at her chosen. "Marinette, there's some other's here I'd like for you to meet."

"Others?" She nodded. Tikki flew back to Alya. On the other side of her head was a little orange fox like creature. Its ears were pointed, eyes sharp, and off the top of the ears were thin pieces of black fur. All four of its paws were black and the tail, which was rather fluffy, was tipped in white. It giggled. "Mari, this is Trixx. She's the kwami for the fox miraculous and she's Alya's partner." Alya held up the pendant around her neck as evidence of what Tikki was saying as true. She smiled sheepishly at her friend. Tikki didn't give her a chance to respond as she flew over to Nino who raised his hand, revealing a new bracelet and a little green, turtle like kwami next to him. Her kwami gave him a quick nuzzle. "And this is Wayzz. He was Master Fu's partner but now he'll be with Nino."

Mari took a deep breath. Her head was spinning a little bit at the news and she put a hand up to stop Tikki. "Wait a second. This is all going so fast. You're saying that Nino and Alya…."

"They're our new partners princess," Adrien cut in, coming back to sit by her. The two in question nodded.

"We are never," Alya swore, "going to leave you alone ever again. One of us will always be there to have your back."

"That's right dudette. You'll never have to fight alone or worry about using Lucky Charm." She looked between everyone in the room before busting out in a smile. She started laughing. The irony of the moment was not lost to her but it was only she who could see it. Everyone eyed her concerned. It took a moment but she eventually composed herself and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as tears had started to form in the corners.

"I'm sorry," she gasped out. "I'm sorry. It's just… goodness. I spent a lot of time hiding who I was and now… well now it just feels like that time was wasted."

"Don't say that Mari," Adrien leaned in to kiss her temple. "You did it to protect everyone. Don't ever count that as a waste."

"Exactly," Alya added. "Nothing's ever been a waste but Master Fu thinks it'll be easier on all of us if we know each other's identities now; especially with Hawkmoth planning something." Marinette leaned her head to the side.

"Who?"

"Me," the older man cut in, carrying a tray filled with new cups of tea. He offered one to each of them before sitting on the floor next to Marinette's mat. She blinked for a second then gasped.

"Wait! I remember you! You helped Tikki when she got sick!"

"Yes, I did," he smiled at her. "I am the Guardian. The miraculouses: the earrings, ring, bracelet, comb, and necklace, were left in my possession for protection." She bowed her head to him.

"Thank-you sir. For helping Tikki that time."

"You gotta thank him for this time too," Nino quickly added. "He saw you fighting Nightmare alone and got to me pretty quick. He gave me the bracelet and I managed to get you out of there before she could get those earrings."

"Wait what?" She rubbed her eyes. Her memory was a little fuzzy. She remembered going to the Police Station and then… well, fighting but the details were vague. Nino nodded.

"Yeah dudette. You went to the Police Station to find out what was happening when you got attacked by this akuma named Nightmare. You duked it out for a bit but she got the jump on you when you used Lucky Charm and she put you under her spell. Once out, you were left open. Master Fu got to me and gave me Wayzz to help you out which was good because I got there in just enough time to give Nightmare a knock on the head."

"Thanks Nino."

He waved a hand. "Any time dudette."

Master Fu looked seriously between the four of them. He sipped at his own cup of tea. "Ladybug, you will need to rest for the next couple of days. Being hit by an akuma as powerful as Nightmare is not something you can so easily recover from. Take it easy for the next several days. Once you're feeling better, I recommend you two teach the two new holders how to handle their miraculouses."

"What about you Master Fu," Alya asked. He smirked at her and sat his cup down.

"Despite appearances, I do still have a day job to contend with. Plus, I still have one miraculous to protect. It would be best if I remained as far from the holders as much as possible." He paused and smiled softly to them. "However, do not take this as a sign that I will not help. If there is a need, I will. Do you understand?" The four of them nodded. "Excellent. Now, when you are ready, it would be best for you to head home. You'll need the rest." Marinette sipped her drink again, finishing it completely. Wayzz flew over to Fu and nuzzled his cheek affectionately; Nino smile sadly at him before reaching for his hat (which was sitting on a chair) and the little kwami flew underneath it to hide. Trixx waved goodbye herself and flew into Alya's messenger bag. Adrien took her cup and handed it back to Fu. He then stood and helped her stand. Her legs wobbled. She gripped his arms as she balanced herself.

"Thank-you again Master Fu," Marinette said, still holding Adrien. "We'll make sure to protect the miraculouses." He smiled but waved them off. The four of them gathered their things before saying one final good-bye to the old man, stepping out into the afternoon.

Alya at one point reached out for Marinette. Adrien's hands tightened around her and she shot him a look. "Really lover boy. I need to be the one to take Mari home. After all, she's supposedly been sleeping over at my place." He eyed her but sighed, releasing his hold. Mari smiled sadly. Before Alya took her away completely, she stood on tip-toe to place a gentle kiss on Adrien's jaw.

"Come by later," she whispered. "I really want to see you." A smile graced his lips and he nodded.

"I'll do that. For now, I should go home. If anything, it'll be long enough to get Nathalie and the Gorilla off my back." He returned the kiss but on her forehead. "I'll see you soon princess."

There was a gagging sound behind them.

"Oh my god if I knew you two were going to be this sweet, I never would have shipped you." They giggled and faced Alya who was making a gagging motion with her hand and mouth. Nino stood behind her. Before anything else could be said, he asked, "So when did you two confess?" The two of them blushed and looked quickly at the ground.

"Well, tech-technically," Marinette stuttered, "we admitted it last week during our dance session…."

"After the akuma," Adrien added.

Nino glared as Alya pumped a fist in the air. "HA! In your face Lahiffe!"

"But we kissed the Friday before that on patrol." Alya swore as this time, Nino looked excited and stuck his tongue out at her.

"Looks like I won this time Césaire. That'll be ten bucks if you please."

"No way. They only kissed as LadyNoir. They confessed as Adrinette."

"But the deal was…."

"Was for the _confession_. Not just kissing."

"Either way it was…."

"Wait a second," Adrien cut in. "You two had a _bet_ on us?" The two of them jerked, surprised. Marinette and Adrien were glaring at the two of them. Alya chuckled nervously.

"Yeah but just for when, and how, you'd get together."

"Nothing bad. Promise dudes."

"Why does that _not_ make me feel any better?" They laughed but Alya waved it off with a hand.

"Don't worry. We promise that we're the only two involved in it considering we were betting on which form of you guys would confess first."

"Forms?"

"Sure. After all between the two of you, there are four personas, so four combinations. We called them LadyNoir, Adrinette, Ladrien, and Marichat."

"You gave us SHIP NAMES?"

"Sure. It makes everything more fascinating." Marinette face-palmed.

"Why am I friends with you again?"

"Because you love me," Alya sang. The blue haired girl rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Anyway, we'll handle the details of that bet later. Let's get you home." Marinette relaxed in her arms and sighed with relief.

"That sounds like an amazing idea to me."


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Notes: Fluff as promised Part 1! More fluff coming in Chapter 25 because I'm a sucker for a certain troupe!**

 **Chapter 24**

Sabine fussed over Mari as soon as Alya dragged her through the front door of the bakery. Said shop was in a lull; only one or two customers who already had their orders milled about eating so she took a moment to let her husband know she was taking her upstairs and she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, leading her up the stairs and into her room. Mari sighed happily, collapsing on her bed. Sabine eyed her but put some medicine, tea, and a heated pack on her desk for easy access. She brushed her hair out of her face, smiling sadly, but left quietly as Marinette started to doze off. Coming back downstairs, Alya shifted nervously and smiled at the older woman.

"I'm sorry about this Sabine," she said. "She didn't get sick until this morning."

"Don't worry about it sweetie. I'm just glad she has such a good friend to take care of her." Alya smiled brighter, thanked her, and left. Not of course, without getting a box of sweets from Tom on the way. Trixx poked her head out of the messenger bag.

"She smells funny," the fox pointed out.

"Who? Sabine?" Trixx nodded. "What's that supposed to mean?" The kwami shrugged and snuggled back into the bag. Alya furrowed her brow, confused but she merely gripped her bag tighter and continued down the sidewalk.

Sabine's brow was furrowed. She stepped over to the bookshelf in the living room and reached up for a tiny box hidden behind a picture frame. It was red and black with Chinese symbols decorating the top and sides; it was extremely dusty having not been touched in years. She brushed the top nostalgically. A line of dust came off and she raised it, blowing the rest off. She opened the top slowly. This revealed an orange colored stone with a couple of lines of black running through it. It still glistened in the light as if she had been polishing it this whole time. She bit her lip. She was so… old now. She no longer was the young girl she used to be; would she really be any help to her daughter or would she just be in the way?

What was the right thing to do?

She took a breath, closing the lid. Sliding it back in its hiding place, she turned and left the room, returning to help her husband with a new batch of goodies, resolving with herself to only help if the situation became too dire for her to stay silent anymore.

Chat Noir jumped from one building to the next, wasting no time to head to Marinette's balcony. Only a couple of hours had passed. There was still some day light out and normally, he would be scared to leave as Chat Noir in such a time but he couldn't wait any longer. Nathalie had kept an eye on him for some time before allowing him to disappear into his bedroom where he fed Plagg (who wasn't complaining too loudly since he was going to get to see Tikki) and transformed, taking off into the night. Now, he used his baton to span a rather large expanse. He jumped once more and landed on her roof with a soft, thud. The transformation ended. Adrien walked over to the hatch and knocked. There was no response. He waited, knocked again. This time, Tikki came to the hatch, phasing out of it, rubbing her eyes, and yawning. She smiled at him.

"Evening you two. Mari's still sleeping but I don't think she'll mind me letting you in. Be careful coming down though." Tikki went back into the hatch, unlocked it. Adrien tugged on it from the outside. Sliding, he made sure to watch his feet placement to not step on his lovely girlfriend (uh… unofficially of course since they haven't confirmed or denied anything). She had curled herself around her cat body pillow, her hair tangled in its pigtails. He smiled as he closed the hatch, climbing down onto the bed, and he started to head for the ladder but he stopped long enough to place a kiss on her forehead. He moved to leave. Something stopped him though and he turned to find a bleary eyed Marinette gripping the back of his shirt.

"Evening Princess," he smirked, backing himself up on the bed. She released his shirt and wrapped her arms around his waist. Nuzzling into his chest, she released a happy sigh, her eyes fluttering closed again. He stroked her hair. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she mumbled. "Napping helped." She turned her head to smile up at him. She squeezed him a bit and added, "I missed you this last week."

"I missed you too. I tried to get it done early but it seemed like my bad luck followed me everywhere. First day, I got water dumped on me! The next day the cameras died and the third, our set was overrun by fans. It was crazy."

"Aww my poor kitty." She reached up and petted his hair. Teasingly, he kissed her wrist before she dropped her hand. His eyes softened as he looked at her.

"Mari, I owe you an apology."

"Adrien…."

"No. Please. Don't stop me." He shifted and pulled her with him until they were both sitting up. Taking her hands in his, he rubbed them softly with his thumbs, creating gentle circles where he touched. "Marinette, I should've… god, I should've fought harder to not go. If I hadn't left you…."

"Stop it Adrien. It wasn't your fault."

"But it was Marinette. I'm supposed to be your partner and I left you without any back-up or anything. Because of me you saw…."

"Adrien Agreste. I swear to all that is good if you don't stop I will throw you off my balcony." He flinched and averted his eyes; he gave her hands a squeeze. She took a breath, "Adrien, what I saw was horrific. Yes, I'm scared. Yes, I'm worried that… that one day this might happen." She removed her hands to wrap them around herself, shivering. "I've always been one to throw things out of proportion but this… this is a reality that could _exist_. What if I mess up? What if you get seriously injured? What if you die?" She steeled herself. "Tikki says that my magic is rather powerful but still, I've never tried to bring someone back before. What if it fails? What if the one time I really need it, I can't do it or it won't or whatever! I'm scared. Really and truly scared but…." She reached out her hands again, taking his and pulling him closer. "You came back to me," she breathed happily, "You kept your promise. Anything I could ever dream of, anything I could ever fear, well, they feel… smaller somehow because you came back." She placed a gentle kiss on his nose. "And no matter if we're in the same city or country or even continent, as long as I know you're out there and thinking of me, I can be that much stronger." He smiled at her, gently reaching up to cup her face.

"You are too good for me. Here I was trying to make you feel better and you turned it all around on me." He kissed her forehead. She grinned at him.

"It takes a lot to get me down Adrien. You should know that by now."

"You're definitely a 'glass-half-full' kind of person."

"Speaking of which, I'm thirsty." She paused as an idea crossed her mind. She leaned in close to him, smiling alluringly, "Hey, Adrien? It's not too late outside right? It's still daytime."

"Yeah but not for long. Maybe an hour or so more." He narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you planning?" Her smirk didn't fade as she started to teasingly walk her fingers up his stomach and chest.

"Well, I was thinking. It's a weekend night. We don't have to go anywhere in the morning. I'm still feeling pretty shaken and would like to have a friend by my side tonight. Why don't we… why don't we have a sleepover?!" He blinked. It took a second for her words to settle in but when they did, he laughed (but not too loudly to alert her parents). When he managed to regain his breath, he wiped the back of his hand against his tear-filled eyes, and he gasped out, "You're a genius." He kissed her nose before calling for Plagg (who had been far more compliant lately).

"I'll ask Nathalie if it'll be alright."

"And I'll ask my parents. There shouldn't be any problem. Especially since I know they ship us together so hard." Adrien's face erupted.

"Wh-what?"

She giggled but playfully poked his nose. "Yep. They do. I've heard them talking before when they think I haven't been listening. They've got a bet on when we start dating too. I'm surprised Alya didn't drag them into her and Nino's bet." Sliding off her bed, she motioned for him to go. "You better get going if this is going to be an actual thing." He transformed, saluted her with two fingers, before disappearing out of her roof again. She shook her head but disappeared herself, heading downstairs to have a talk with her parents about an impromptu sleepover.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Notes: Sorry it's been a couple of days. I struggled with this chapter because I had almost no idea how a sleepover was supposed to work so I had to do some research. Anyway, I hope you enjoy despite my ignorance on the subject matter!**

 **Chapter 25**

Nathalie approved. Not immediately but she did. The excitement in his face was too good for him and something she didn't see that often unless it had something to do with his friends or someone… else. She was very aware of how often he'd started to talk about the Dupain-Cheng girl and she knew that his father was impressed by her, so she saw no harm in allowing him to spend the evening with her.

She'd run coverage with his dad. The boy deserved a night off. Especially after the week he'd had in Italy.

Ten minutes later, he came nearly bolting down the stairs with an overnight bag ready to go. He was vibrating. Nathalie adjusted the glasses on her face to hide the smile that crossed her lips. "Adrien, you'll be dropped off there for the evening. We will pick you up tomorrow afternoon." He nodded. He nearly leaned up to place a kiss on her cheek but he hesitated and smiled instead.

"Thanks Nathalie." She allowed him to see her smile this time.

"Have a good time Adrien. Enjoy your night off."

He waved her off before running out the door and into the waiting black car.

It had been nothing to convince her parents to allow Adrien to sleepover. Tom had been hesitant but Sabine had smiled instantly, patting his arm reassuringly, before agreeing brightly; Marinette immediately ran up to them, hugging them tightly, before sending an all clear message to Adrien who sent one in return saying he'd been cleared too. Sabine kissed her daughter's forehead. They spoke briefly. Her parents expressed their trust in her and Adrien but her face turned a bright red when she realized what they were implying the longer they talked. She assured them nothing was going to happen (outside of a make-out session) but agreed to leave her door open if they went up into her room (which was going to happen because cuddling in some privacy was a must and she wanted to watch some cheesy movies with him at some point while doing so).

Marinette immediately set out to collect some materials. She grabbed a couple of cups, drinks, and snacks from the kitchen. She then set out to raid the linen closet. Everything was going smoothly until Tikki tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the dress. She gasped, hearing movement from down stairs, before quickly grabbing her mannequin and shoving it into her side closet. She closed it in just enough time to turn around and meet Adrien coming up the stairs with an awkward grin. He eyed her for a second.

"Hey… Marinette," he said slowly, "What're you doing?"

"N-nothing! Nothing," she laughed. Moving off the door, she skipped over to meet him, a sly smile replacing the previously awkward one. She helped him bring his stuff up into her room before placing a gentle peck on his lips. He deepened it by lacing his fingers in the back of her hair. They stayed like that for several seconds before pulling apart again, smiling like a couple of idiots. "I hope you're hungry. Mom's going to be calling us down for dinner soon. Until then, wanna play some Mecha Strike?"

"Of course. I have to warn you though, I've been practicing. I'm good enough to beat you now."

"We'll see about that," she challenged, handing him a controller and turning on her game.

Tikki giggled at the two of them and Plagg, who had already escaped from the confines of his partner's outer shirt, rolled his eyes before the two of them disappeared for the evening to give them some privacy. Marinette made sure to supply both of them with a large amount of snacks to munch on at their leisure.

An hour later, fifteen matches and thirteen losses, Adrien slumped downstairs followed by a giggling Marinette who playfully patted his shoulder. "What's wrong? I thought you were going to beat me."

"Oh shut-up," he pouted. She giggled again and moved around him to playfully poke his nose.

"Oh come on. Don't pout. You'll be able to beat me one day."

"You're darn right. I'm going to beat you if it's the last thing I do!"

"Good luck with that," Tom smirked, setting down a plate of bread. "I haven't been able to beat her since she was eight."

"What can I say," she returned, "The student has beaten the master. Isn't that like the plot of nearly every major movie ever?"

"At least _Star Wars_."

"True."

They sat around the table. Sabine smiled brightly and told them to dig in; the conversations were pleasant. Tom and Adrien immediately started in on a pun war that had both women rolling their eyes frequently throughout the meal and Marinette groaned, pleading for it to stop. They only teased her. It got worse. When the meal was finished, the two younger people helped clean and put the dishes away. They returned to the table where Tom had pulled out Monopoly and they played that for about an hour before the game ended in a mass piece throwing war; for the record, Marinette started it by throwing a little red house at Adrien first. They laughed before Sabine made everyone clean up all of the pieces scattered about the room and shooed them off to bed with a reminder to Mari to leave the door open. Her face turned bright red but she mumbled her agreeance. Adrien smirked, realizing what was happening, and smiled brightly at Sabine with the same agreeance. They were finally left alone and once they heard her parents disappear into their room, his smirk turned on her and he leaned down to kiss the back of her neck softly. She shivered.

"So your parents don't trust us," he breathed. She licked her lips, her chest felt tighter all of the sudden, and the red on her face definitely got worse.

"Oh they trust us. They're just not… oblivious?" He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Was that some kind of shade?"

She giggled and winked. "Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't." She moved away from him and picked up an armful of pillows and blankets, smirking. "We are so doing a blanket fort." He hesitated.

"Uh… I've never…."

"That's alright," she chirped. "They're relatively easy to make. We're just going to have to move some of my furniture around quietly." She pulled out some extra yarn she had and tied it securely to the beam on the left hand side of her corner desk; she then tied the other end to the railing leading up to her bed. They pushed the chaise lounge out of the way by lifting it and turning it sideways to not disturb her parents. Adrien grabbed her rolling chair and moved it too. They placed a couple of the blankets over the yarn and back of the chair which made almost a triangular tent shape. Marinette climbed up to her bed and tossed down her pillows and blanket and the full sized cat body pillow. Adrien made some quip about if she wanted such a large cat to cuddle, all she had to do was ask, and this required that she look over the side of her bed, glaring. She stuck out her tongue. Once everything was set, they worked on the inside, positioning a majority of the blankets underneath them to make the ground more comfortable before setting the pillows all around them in a nest shape. Marinette disappeared into the bathroom to change into her night clothing (just a t-shirt and sweat pants) once everything was set. He took that opportunity to do so as well, changing into his "I 3 Ladybug" shirt and black sweats, causing a raging blush across her nose upon her return. He smirked knowingly. Teasing was a two way street and he so owed her from a couple of Wednesdays ago. She cleared her throat. "So what now?" He shifted nervously before reaching into his bag.

"Okay, so don't laugh but I brought some of my favorite movies from home." She eyed him but watched as he pulled out a rather large stack of movies; most were animes of some kind but then she saw another that piqued her interest.

"What's this," she asked, raising one up in particular. Adrien's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean 'what's this'?" It's _Godzilla versus MechaGodzilla_!"

"Yeah, I can read that. What's it about?" Adrien playfully gripped at his chest.

"My lady! You wound me so much! How could you have never seen a Godzilla movie?"

"Because I have a life and I'm not a dork?"

"Har-har." He took the movie and waved it at her. "Prepare to be dorkified. This is the greatest in b-rated movie experiences ever."

"If you say so." Adrien inserted the movie into the computer and returned to join her in the fort. As the movie started, he lay back on the pillows; she shifted to nestle into his side, laying one arm across his midsection while her head rested on his shoulder. He tightened his arm around her. Placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head, he turned his eyes to watch the screen. The longer it went, the more Marinette realized just how much of a dork Adrien really was. He was able to name every actor, even translated a couple of the phrases for her when the subs didn't or messed up, and he was able to name every monster to appear in subsequent movies after. She gaped at him. Shaking her head, she playfully poked his nose and mumbled something about him being a major dorkasaurus. He only returned the smirk, stroking her hair gently.

The heat from cuddling made her dizzy. She yawned, nuzzling her face into his neck, causing his grip on her to tighten just a little bit. Her eyes drooped. After a couple of minutes, Adrien looked down to find her breathing evenly, her arms still around him. A soft smile crossed his lips and he shifted a bit to make her more comfortable, placing a gentle kiss on her head, before whispering, "I love you Marinette."

He closed his eyes too. The heat and noise of the movie lulled him into sleep as well.

Before he completely passed out, he was pretty sure he heard her mumble, "I love you too."


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Notes: HAHAHAHAHAHA I DID THE THING. ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 26**

There was a stretch, yawn, and a satisfied sigh from the small half-Asian girl curled up in the side of the blonde man next to her. Marinette woke pleasantly. Her face was plastered against his shoulder (which made her glad she was the first one up) but she hadn't drooled on him nor did it look like she managed to do anything else that would have been embarrassing. She did watch him for a bit though. Mari leaned over him; her eyes traveled across his face, taking in the soft flushed color of his skin, the way his hair curled in all directions just like Chat's, the rosy color of his lips, and the way his chest rose and fell evenly. She smiled softly. Really, she could stay there all day and watch him sleeping peacefully.

That wasn't to be of course. She grunted softly as she started to crawl out of the warmth that was Adrien's arms as she shuffled off quietly for the bathroom. Once done, she returned, climbing back where she came from. He took a deep breath and moved to hug her closer. He smiled brightly though his eyes remained close; she made a face and poked his nose playfully. "If you were awake, you could've told me."

"I just woke up. My side got rather cold. It was bothersome." He opened one eye to stare at her. It twinkled with mischief and she leaned up to hold herself above him. Her hair, which she'd taken out of her pigtails in the bathroom, fell over her shoulder, gently brushing his shoulder and neck. He swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry I made your morning miserable," she breathed.

"I didn't say miserable. Best morning I've ever had in my opinion." He reached up and cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed gently back and forth across it and under her eye. She leaned in closer to him. Their lips were just centimeters away from touching.

"Hmmm I don't know," she teased, "I think it could be better."

"Got something in mind?"

"I might. Considering we didn't get a chance to do this last night."

"My lady, all you had to do was ask." She kissed his nose.

"Nah. I was too busy being dorkified last night."

"Marinette?"

"Hmmmm?"

"Shut-up." Adrien gently pulled her down the rest of the way, tired of waiting for her to get on with it. Their lips met softly. His hand moved from her cheek to the back of her head where he took a small fistful of her hair, gently of course. Marinette placed her hands on either side of his face, leaning in to him and leveraging her small frame on his shoulder to hold herself up better. They pulled back a couple of times. They returned each time more desperate than the time before until their kisses were nothing but roughness and heat, each breath mingling together, their tongues dancing once more, before they pulled apart for the last time and she dropped back to laying on his shoulder, releasing a happy sigh. Adrien shifted, his arm tightening around her shoulders again. Neither of them wanted to move but they knew they were going to have to at some point. Marinette traced lazy lines up and down his chest. "Say, Mari? Why don't we go on that date today?"

She looked up at him. "Oh?" He smirked in return.

"Yeah. I promised to take you before the ball and today seems to be better than any other day. It's Saturday, there's no school, plus Alya and Nino won't be the wiser so the risk of… on-lookers will be greatly lower." She giggled.

"Oh come on. They aren't that bad." He only raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay so they are a little bit bad. I'm blaming that on Alya more than Nino though."

"I second that." She shifted again, this time sitting up. He followed suit; only he brushed the hair out of the way and placed a gentle kiss on the back of her neck. She stretched again.

"So hotshot. What'd you have plan for this date?"

"Tut-tut Marinette. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you using my own words against me?"

"That I am my lady." She smacked his shoulder. He responded by grabbing her waist and pulling her into his lap; she giggled and kicked her legs a bit.

"Adrien Agreste! Let me go!"

"Nope. No way." He squeezed her middle a little tighter. "You're mine." His face erupted into red as the words left his mouth and he hid himself away in her neck. She froze in his arms. He wondered if he over stepped his boundaries, the thing he had been so worried about crossing the previous week, after he'd finally gotten the chance to kiss her outside of the mask.

Suddenly, she was turning. No longer hesitant or stiff in his arms, she felt warm and soft instead as she twisted enough to reveal his face to her; now he was the one avoiding eye contact. Marinette kissed his exposed temple. "Yours. I like the sound of that."

His head shot up so fast she was worried he'd broken his neck. His eyes were wide, mouth open a bit. "Wh-what?" She giggled, stroking his hair.

"I said, I like the sound of being yours."

"Then you… and I…?"

She giggled again before kissing his cheek and poking his nose. "Silly kitty. You have to actually ask the question before I can give an answer." He took a deep breath to calm himself. His arms came from around her waist to let her turn and face him better, her legs immediately straddling his hips. His eyes took inventory of her face. There was no teasing in her eyes, no sign of her joking or pulling a prank, or really, her going back on her words. She meant everything she said. She really did want this. He breathed again. Grabbing a hand, he brought the back of it up to his lips.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," he breathed slowly, "will you be my girlfriend?" Her face brightened almost instantly.

"Of course I will," she breathed, pulling him in for another kiss.

Neither of them saw or heard the soft, happy giggles coming from the entrance to her room nor did they hear the retreating footsteps of her parents as they went down to start breakfast.


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note: #letthechildrenhaveapeacefuldate2k17**

 **Chapter 27**

Marinette came down the stairs hesitantly. She'd kicked Adrien out of her room after breakfast, banning him from there, while she began to get dressed for the date. Tikki had made sure to distract Plagg so he wouldn't rat anything to Adrien about what she was wearing; he'd only shrugged at the suggestion and followed his own partner back to their secret alcove in a dark corner of the young girl's room. She spent about thirty minutes getting ready; her first official date with Adrien had to be special and she definitely had to be cute. She did a light makeup. Everything was natural except for a pink tint on her lips and gentle eyeliner over her eyes. The outfit she chose was a pink sundress with a white cardigan, matching pink headband, and white ballerina flats. It was a dress she'd made some time ago but never got a chance to wear; she smoothed the skirt nervously before finally being encouraged enough by the kwamis in her purse to finally go do the stairs.

Adrien was sitting on the couch with her parents. His mouth fell open upon seeing her and he stood quickly to meet her. Her parents stood as well. Tom wrapped a gentle hand around Sabine's shoulder and both beamed at the two of them. After making promises of being careful and coming home in enough time for Adrien's ride, they took off. Tikki stuck her head out of the bag at one point to smile at the two of them before ducking back in to snuggle Plagg; Adrien smiled in returned and reached out to hold her hand as he led the way down the sidewalk. Marinette wasn't blushing. She wasn't stuttering or tripping over herself. She felt so… so _balanced_ it was ridiculous. She'd never felt like this before. It was comforting and warm in the pit of her stomach that made her grin like an idiot for the whole walk.

He led her down to the metro. She huffed. "Adrien, where in the world are you taking me? We're going on a date but I have no idea where to!" He pulled the hand he held up to his lips.

"No way. It's a secret!"

"Adrien…."

"Seriously Marinette. Trust me." She rolled her eyes.

"You know I do Kitty."

"Perfect then," he whispered. "I think you're going to like it." He suddenly looked nervous and fidgeted next to her. "I mean, I hope you're going to like it. I started planning it when I figured out who you were but I learned some new things about you and changed it a couple of times and now…."

"Adrien?" He stopped. She smirked and patted his cheek softly. "Calm down. I'm sure I'm going to love it." He sighed and leaned his head on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist, lacing his fingers together.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I'm just so nervous about this. I've… I've never been on a date before." She leaned back to make him look at her. Her lips are creased in a soft smile. She stroked his cheek before reaching up to brush some of his hair off his brow.

"You want a secret? I've never been on a real date either."

"You? Popular, beautiful Marinette? Never?"

"Nope. I haven't had a reason. Sure, I crushed on a couple of guys in middle school but my parents weren't too keen on the idea of two middle schoolers going out and up until last year, I didn't have any feelings for anyone in particular but when you… well, when you gave me your umbrella, I finally found someone I really wanted to be with." He blinked.

"That long? You've had a crush on me that long?"

She stuck her tongue out. "You know what. I take it back. Your ego's going to be inflated like crazy because I said that."

"But Mari…."

"No way. I'm recanting."

"My lady!"

"Don't turn Chat on me."

"I can't purr-omise anything." She groaned as he wiggled his eyebrows at her teasingly.

"I hate you."

"Don't lie. You know you love me." She stuck her tongue out at him again, this time, he laughed and kissed her nose in return. The train came to a stop and he led her out onto the station. She looked up at the location names and eyed him questioningly but he only took her hand and continued up to the surface. She squinted a bit in the sun. They were on a street she wasn't too familiar with since she rarely came out this way. Adrien started bouncing excitedly. "Come on. The place is over this way." She followed as he led her down the street, stopping her short of a sleek looking modern building.

"What in the world…?"

"Open the door," he encouraged. She made a face at him but walked to it. Pulling them open, she stepped into possibly the largest fabric store she'd ever been in in her life. Her mouth dropped. She spun to face him and he was grinning just as badly as she was.

"You… this isn't…!"

"It is and it's all yours." He motioned to the rows and rows of unique and beautiful fabrics. "I specifically asked for the store to close for an hour or so."

"But when…?"

"While you were getting dressed. The manager knows me and was more than willing to help. My father won't be the wiser because I'll be using my own money from the modeling to pay for everything."

"I'm not buying the whole store Adrien!"

"And why not?"

"Where would I put it?"

"We can store it at my place and then as you need it…."

"No way. I'll look but I won't guarantee anything." A small, peppy looking man came up to them then, greeting Adrien rather fondly. He introduced him as Mr. Petit to Marinette and the older man expressed his happiness in Adrien finding someone to balance him out. Said boy's face erupted again. Marinette giggled and thanked him for closing the shop. He nodded, motioning to the rows of fabrics, before he led the way to each one, briefly explaining the various types of materials and fabrics she was going to find. Now it was her turn to vibrate. Never had she experienced such a place. Sure it felt a little colder because of the modern shape but the manager made it worth wild.

Adrien watched her light up the longer she talked; most of the people his father had working for him were like him in many respects, very professional and very distant with their customers despite being pleasant on the sales floor. He'd met Mr. Petit when he was younger. The man truly valued his work and his customers which is why he'd brought Marinette to him. He beamed at her as she talked animatedly about the different types of fabrics and what patterns would look best with them. Adrien left them to sit in one of the lounge chairs nearby. He said nothing. He didn't call any attention to himself. He just sat and watched because it was the one thing that made him happy: seeing his lady smile and brighten over her passion.

Before either of them knew it, their time was up. Adrien returned to her side to help carry some of the fabrics she'd selected and, before she could protest, paid for every one of them. They thanked Mr. Petit again for his kindness, leaving with a wave. They moved slowly down the sidewalk. A cold wind rushed across them and Marinette shivered a bit. He smiled softly at her. "Let's find somewhere warm for lunch." She nodded and followed him to a rather nice looking restaurant. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Adrien Agreste. You are not going to spend even more money on me."

"And why not?"

She sighed. "You can't just go spending it without thinking. You earned that money in your job. Don't waste it on me."

He turned on her then. Adrien towered over her to the point that Marinette had to tuck her head back in order to meet his gaze. It was intense but not angry. His lips were pursed thin. Slowly, he said, "You don't think I've thought about it? I've been thinking about it since the moment I discovered who you are. I've been in love with you so long that all I've been able to think about is how can I treat you like the princess that you are. Kind, selfless Marinette. I earned this money but so what? I wasn't using it on anything important. Now I have something important to use it on. You." He kissed her forehead. "And don't you forget it."

Marinette's face burned a bright red. She had to bite down on her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. She didn't need to be making a scene in public by dropping her bags and pulling him in for a rough kiss. Adrien noticed however and leaned down to quickly kiss her lips, pulling back with a smirk when it was done, and turning to open the door for her. She rolled her eyes as he bowed to her but entered anyway.

Inside was decorated nicely in lush carpet, white table cloths, and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. She swallowed hard. A waiter came up and offered to take their bags for a bit which Adrien had to pry out of her hands before they were led to a table; she only listened as he did most of the ordering since her head was spinning and she was feeling a little overwhelmed by the setting. He reached out, grabbing her hand, grounding her back in reality. "Are you alright Marinette?" She nodded. She brushed her thumb across his knuckles.

"Yeah. Just wondering how I ended up with the most fantastic boyfriend in the world." Adrien blushed and his lips parted in a goofy grin. He started to say something when Marinette's phone suddenly started ringing. She blinked, confused. Mumbling an apology, she reached into her purse to retrieve it (earning a small grumble from Plagg) before noticing that it was Alya on the other end. She showed him, shrugged, and answered.

"Hey Alya what's…."

" _Girl, where are you?_ "

"I'm out on a date with Adrien."

" _Out on a… when did this happen?_ "

"Er… we decided to go on one last week but it got cancelled because of Italy." Something sounded like it exploded in the background. Marinette stood up quickly in shock. "Alya?! What was that?"

" _I'll squeal with you later about that but right now, Paris needs Ladybug and Chat Noir. Nightmare's back and she's blasting anyone and everything in front of the tower._ "

"We're on our way. Can you and Nino…?"

Someone screamed from the background, " _What the hell does she think we're doing anyway?_ " She flinched.

"Got it. Just hold it down until we get there." She hung up the phone, her eyes shining with determination as she turned back to him. Adrien was already standing. He knew. They nodded to each other before taking off out of the restaurant. He thrust some money into the nearest waiter's hand on the way past, stating they'll be back soon for their bags, before the two of them found a secluded alleyway to transform in. Tikki and Plagg flew out of the purse. Adrien called the words for his transformation. Once complete, he turned to find Marinette still standing there as Marinette.

"My lady?"

She swallowed. "I'm scared Chat. I'm really scared." He noticed that she was shaking. "I-I'm Ladybug. I shouldn't be scared but Nightmare… she… I can't…." Chat smiled softly and came up to her, wrapping her in a gentle hug. Tikki watched with worry.

"Mari," he soothed, "you're not alone this time. Alya, Nino, and I are not leaving you alone. We will never let you slip into that darkness again. You are kind, courageous, and a hero. You are everything this city needs even if you don't always feel that way about yourself." She squeezed her fists against his back, tightening her hold on him. When she was calm again, Marinette raised her face, the brave look of determination returned.

"Thank-you. I needed that." He kissed her forehead.

"Anytime purrincess. Now, let's go save Paris."

"Again," she agreed, calling for Tikki. Within seconds, the two heroes cleared the alleyway with ease and made their way across Paris and on to one of their greatest challenges yet.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

When they arrived at the Eiffel Tower, everything was in mass chaos. They landed on the ground just in front of it and after pulling their weapons back to themselves, the two superheroes took a good look around.

The scene was sickening.

There were lots of bodies on the ground around them, twitching in their deep slumber. Every now and then, one of them would scream but otherwise, the scene was completely quiet. Ladybug swallowed. Chat reached out and squeezed her arm, reminding her that she wasn't alone. She smiled at him gratefully. They walked forward together, searching for the akuma they knew to be somewhere nearby but there was nothing. The silence was near deafening.

Suddenly off in the distance, there came the sound of an explosion and the two of them ran towards it without any hesitation. Coming out on the other side of the tower revealed a chaotic scene: People were scattering in all directions while a person dressed all in green and one in a white-orange costume tried to deflect as many of the blasts as they could. The one in orange jumped in front of a civilian and swung her flute, batting a blast straight up into the air; the other jumped just in front of a mother and child, raising his arm and creating a green shield instantly that he used to keep them covered long enough to get the two of them into a building and out of sight. Once a majority of the civilians were out of sight, the two new heroes got clear of Nightmare long enough to meet up with Ladybug and Chat Noir. Chat whistled.

"Wow. You two are pretty impressive for being new at this." The fox looking hero stood up with a smirk.

"Thanks Chat. We had good role models to follow." She placed her flute across her back. She brushed her hair off of her shoulder. Assessing her real quick, Ladybug realized that she had a rather tall pair of black and orange ears on top of wild, red hair that turned white at the tips. Her mask was orange and the neckline of her suit was black, leading into a white front framed in orange with nearly full length black leg and arm designs. She also had a rather wide, thin tail that curled up just a bit from the ground. His outfit was vastly different. His was green from the head down. His mask was a bright green rimmed with dark green. His suit started out as dark green at his neck and shoulders before wrapping around his back. From his stomach, arms, and legs were accented with the same light green before turning back to the dark green in his gloves and boots. On his right wrist was an extra dark green band that his shield came from. "We can't do much though. Both of us are still trying to figure out our powers."

Ladybug immediately stepped up. "Alright. For now, it'll be best if you two make sure that all the civilians are out of the area. See if you can get those emergency crews in here to clear the people who've already been hit. Chat and I will try to purify the akuma."

"Dude, about that," the green hero jumped in, "I didn't catch a glimpse of where it could be. She's not carrying anything extra on her."

"I think I saw a necklace or something," the fox said, "but I can't be sure. She's guarding it under her costume."

"Looks like this is going to be a real nightmare to handle my lady." All three of them gave him a look and rolled their eyes. She pointed to him.

"Ladybug, is he always like this?"

"Yep. Better get used to it if you're going to be fighting with us from now on." She pulled off her yo-yo. "Now let's get going… er… what are we going to call you two anyway?"

"Lady Fox is good for me," she winked. "Call it idol-syndrome." Ladybug rolled her eyes but turned to the other hero who only rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look dudette, I'm not good with this whole 'create-a-superhero-name' thing so all I got is… Emerald Shield…." Lady Fox started to laugh, earning a prompt glare from him. Ladybug shook her head and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's alright. It'll work for now so don't worry too much about it." The four of them spun as they heard maniacal laughter coming upon them. Ladybug started spinning her yo-yo. "Get going you two. We'll handle her." They nodded and took off to help protect and direct the emergency crews on the other side. Meanwhile, Chat and Ladybug readied for their own battle. Nightmare appeared in all her wicked glory after blasting a car out of her way; her eyes were just as wild as she remembered them from the night of their first battle. She laughed again.

"Ladybug," she screeched, "You won't get away from me this time! You'll be staying in your nightmare from now on!" The hero started to step back but Chat hissed.

"Don't listen my lady. We can definitely wake this akuma from her bad dream." She nodded and steeled herself. Nightmare shot a blast at the two of them which they dodged in opposite directions. She followed Ladybug with each shot, the spotted heroine using cars and her yo-yo as her cover, until suddenly, the blasts stopped coming for her. Looking over a car, she found the akuma and Chat in close combat. He repeatedly swung his baton down onto her but she blocked with her arms, swinging her free hand to blast at him which he dodged in the close quarters. When she got too grabby for his liking, he jumped back, reset, and came at her again. Ladybug gritted her teeth. She shook a little but steadied herself before flinging the yo-yo skyward.

"Lucky Charm," she shouted. Her yo-yo spun faster and faster, spitting out a swarm of little red dots, before the solidified back into…, "Uh? A baby doll?" She caught the thing and held it out. This had to be the creepiest thing she'd ever seen. The doll was swaddled in a red and black blanket but the face otherwise looked real. She looked around, her lucky vision coming into play.

All it lit up was the doll.

Ladybug continued to stare at it confused until it hit her, like a punch in the stomach, why only the doll lit up. She suddenly felt sick. This poor akuma….

She swaddled the doll like a real child and slowly walked out into the open, around the car she was hiding behind. It apparently had the ability to coo which it started doing. Nightmare froze in her tracks. The wildness left her hair and eyes. Her glowing hands stopped. Chat froze as well, unsure of what was going on. Ladybug pretended to be playing with the child.

"Who's a good little one," she cooed in return. "Your mama must be so proud to have such a cute child." The doll cooed again. Nightmare slowly inched forward. Ladybug held her breath. This was extremely risky, especially if she couldn't make her plan work. Chat watched too. He held his breath just as she held hers and he got ready in case she fell again. Ladybug eyed him to back off for now. Nightmare took a shaky step forward. "Is this your child," Ladybug asked the akuma softly. Said woman stopped just in front of the hero, her arms reaching out slowly to take it from her.

"Abella," she whispered softly. Tears came from her eyes and she collapsed to the ground, clutching the doll. "Abella," she repeated. "My beautiful Abella." Nightmare seemed to forget her purpose and while she was distracted, Ladybug went around her slowly, pulling the necklace out from under her costume. It was a locket. It was unfortunately open and she saw the picture of a man and woman smiling. The woman was very pregnant at the time. Something must have happened. Ladybug gritted her teeth and crushed it in her hand, setting the butterfly free.

"That's enough from you little akuma," she said, dropping her yo-yo before spinning it. "Time to de-evilize!" She tossed it and caught the fluttering thing before pulling it back to hand, "Caught ya!" Opening revealed a pure white creature that she smiled at, "Bye-bye little butterfly." She walked over to Nightmare who still had tears running down her face. She placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile. The akumatized woman flinched. She'd realized in the last few minutes the doll was a fake and it had slipped from her hands. Ladybug picked it up but didn't release her touch from the woman's shoulder as she flung it skyward, shouting, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The red swarm burst from the doll and went to repair Paris, waking the many victims from the akuma's hold. The poison faded from her as well, revealing a disheveled looking woman with curly brown hair, medium colored skin, and brown eyes. She wore nothing but a nightgown. She looked around confused. Then she realized who was touching her shoulder and gasped.

"L-Ladybug! Where am I?" Her face paled. "Oh no. Was I…?"

Ladybug knelt down beside her, "Yes, you were but it's all over now. You're safe." She paused before pulling the woman into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about what happened to your child." The woman was caught off guard but eventually, she hugged her back, crying again. When she was done, Ladybug held her out at arm's length. "I'd like to help you. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault." The woman shook her head.

"Thank-you but… but unless you can catch the one who… who… killed…." She sniffled again. "Unless you can cross boarders to catch the man who killed my husband and child, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do."

Ladybug frowned. Chat Noir came up and heard the conversation. He thought for a second and reached for his baton, immediately calling for the mayor's office. Both women eyed him confused. "Hello? Mayor Bourgeois? Chat Noir. Listen, I have a favor to ask of you. Ladybug and I've handled the most recent akuma as you probably noticed and she was just explaining to us why she got akumatized. Apparently, there is a murderer who managed to get himself out of Paris." He paused, listening to what the mayor had to say. A smile crossed his lips. "Really? That's wonderful news. I'll be sure to let her know. Thank-you for being diligent in this matter." He hung up his baton and turned to them with a smile. "Mrs. Fortier, wonderful news. They caught him." She blinked.

"Wh-what?"

"The man who hit your car. Apparently, there was a detective who was working your case who got wind of the guy living in Italy. They're on their way back now to stand trial. Since this was an international situation, the chief of police thought it was best to keep the mayor informed. He was going to call you himself to tell you the good news."

For the first time in months, the woman smiled brightly. Fresh, happy tears streamed down her face. She immediately reached and hugged Ladybug then stood and hugged Chat Noir.

"Thank-you," she cried. "Thank-you so much." The two heroes smiled. A medic came up behind them with a kit and blanket. Ladybug handed her off to him, asking that he make sure she gets home alright, before she finally acknowledged Tikki's warning that she was going to transform back. They waved good bye to everyone and took off back in the direction they had originally come from. Landing safely in the same deserted alleyway, they transformed back in just the nick of time. Tikki landed in Marinette's out stretched palms.

"Wonderful job you two," she chirped wearily. Plagg flew down next to her and nuzzled his face against her.

"Thanks," Marinette returned. She looked up at Adrien. "I hope she's going to be okay."

"We did everything we could for her," he agreed, "but, just in case, I'll keep an eye on the court case and pull some strings if I have to. That man shouldn't be getting out of prison for a very long time." She nodded in agreement before starting to move towards the alley entrance.

Suddenly, her head spun. Marinette's face was flush as she felt herself feeling sick again. She pitched forward.

The last thing she heard was the cry of the two kwamis and Adrien.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author's Note: I promised not to leave everyone hanging for long so here it is! Also, if you wouldn't mind, could you check out my youtube channel? I made some drawings from scenes and characters from "Shall We Dance?" and I want to do more but I want to see how it goes first. You can find it here:** **channel/UCNK4khIUYLqZfL9b_8slv-w**

 **Thanks and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 29**

"She will need to stay in bed for the next couple of days. By my estimate, she will be able to return to school by Tuesday and be completely back to normal by Wednesday. Until then, she will need to take it easy. Ladybug should only act if there is an extreme emergency."

"Yes Master Fu. I'll make sure of it." There was a pause.

"I did not expect the akuma to have such an effect on her. This is something to take into consideration."

"I think it's my fault Master Fu," a third voice chirped.

"What could you mean dear Tikki?"

"I think… I think when I left some of my magic behind, it clashed with Nightmare's magic and essentially, some of it was left behind in her body even after the cure was done. This would have been like poison in her system. Fighting as Ladybug would have helped it spread faster. Mari was fine until I separated from the earrings."

"That's right. She woke up this morning acting like nothing was wrong. It wasn't until she collapsed that we knew anything was wrong." There was silence. Someone hummed.

"This is an interesting turn of events. However, I think I have just the solution." There was the sound of someone shuffling around and then rummaging through something. When the noise stopped, she could hear him continue, "Have her drink this three times a day until she returns to school. Then she will need to cut back to only twice: once in the morning and evening before she sleeps."

"What about Wednesday?"

"If all goes well, she should not need it but we'll go ahead and say the same thing: morning and evening." There was silence again.

"Thank-you Master Fu. I'll be sure to watch over her." There was a chuckle.

"Of course young Chat Noir. Now, I will proceed downstairs to speak to her parents about keeping her in bed."

"I've already called Nathalie. I'll be staying here until school Monday." The silence again. She wished they wouldn't stop talking or moving. She couldn't keep up with the conversation if she couldn't hear them. There was the shuffling again and this time, there was the sound of wood on wood as Master Fu started walking with his cane.

"Keep me updated on her condition. Paris will be in grave danger if we lose our Ladybug."

"Yes Master Fu." She heard her door open and shut and someone sat in her rolling chair with a sigh.

"Hey, cheer up kid," a new voice said. She could practically hear Adrien thrusting his head into his hands as he replied, "Cheer up Plagg? I put her in danger. Again. Master Fu said take it easy and I just had to take her on a date."

"It's not your fault Adrien…."

"But it is Tikki. I suggested the date. I took her all the way across town. I took her there despite knowing that Nightmare was still out there." There was silence again. If she knew her kwami, she was currently floating over to hug Adrien's head before floating down to her desk to give off some words of wisdom.

"What's done is done Adrien," she finally said. "Nightmare was a different type of akuma. We didn't know how the magic was going to react. Maybe it was because of her dark emotions. They were far darker than any other akuma we've ever faced before." There was yet another pause. Really, she wanted to scream at all of them to stop with the pauses. "Besides, if anyone's to blame… it's me. I shouldn't have left a part of my magic behind. Marinette probably would have been alright either way if I hadn't…."

"But how would we have gotten her out in the first place," he asked, cutting her off. "Your magic let me and Plagg into the dream. It was the only reason we were able to pull her out in the first place."

"Yes but…."

"ALRIGHT that's enough of that you two." Both of them fell silent as Plagg cut in. Normally, he would keep his nose out of stuff like this but he couldn't stand listening to his partners blaming themselves for what happened to the sleeping girl. "You've already said it Tikki. What's done is done. Nothing we do can undo the past. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and move on." Pause. Suddenly, the two of them were laughing and Plagg made a humming noise as he stared at them. "What's so funny?"

"You! You acting all wise and stuff," Adrien gasped between breaths. The black cat kwami let out a frustrated huff.

"Fine. See me never give advice to you ever again."

"Oh come on Plagg. You've been playing the aloof card since we woke up this time," Tikki added. "You can't suddenly try to revert. It's not cool." She was sure he was blushing as Adrien asked, "Wait, you're telling me this guy is actually wise?"

"Yep. He's always advised the Black Cats while I had the Ladybugs. He has to have some brains in him so that the Cats could be just as heroic as the Bugs because sometimes we wouldn't find each other. Sometimes, we were in completely different places. It just depended on the situation."

"Sometimes, we were made to fight against each other," Plagg whispered. The air suddenly turned solemn. Adrien swallowed.

"I'm… I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Like I said. We can't change the past."

"That's right," Tikki agreed. "In the end, everything works out the way it needs to. Thank-you Plagg."

"Don't mention it." Pause again. "Seriously. We're never going to talk about this again." The two of them giggled again and swore that they wouldn't (but they so intended to later on). She smiled happily, realizing that the stress in the room was gone, and she was free to float back into darkness.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author's Notes: Guys, I'm sad. I just realized how close I am to finishing this fanfiction. It's my first chapter one. It's special. ... I'm legit crying because it's almost over. Oh and in other news, I'm announcing my participating in Adrinette Month 2k17 and revealing that I am writing a month long (that's right you heard me) fanfiction. Be on the look out for that information! Enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter 30**

Lady Fox swung her legs over the edge of Notre Dame where she was joined by Emerald Shield. She sighed happily. The skyline of Paris was far more beautiful than she had ever expected it to be; she knew what the tourist thought and until that moment, she hadn't really believed it. The mask made it so much more than what her civilian eyes could ever see. She leaned her head onto his shoulder and they were silent as they watched the lights of the city below.

"I can see why they like being heroes," he mused. She hummed in agreement. A hero. It was still running wild in her mind that she was one of them now. Especially after looking up to heroes in comic books for years. This didn't even count Ladybug who she'd fawned over in the last year alone. Never had she dreamed that she would get the chance to be one.

The two of them heard footfalls from behind and they sat up, turning enough to see Chat Noir replacing his baton and waving at the two of them.

"Hey you two," he greeted.

"Hey Chat."

"Sup Dude?" He smiled at them both but stopped where he was at in the middle of the roof. They flipped back onto said roof and walked over to join him. He opened his front pocket and from it flew Tikki who smiled brightly at them.

"Good evening Lady Fox, Emerald Shield." They greeted her as Chat explained, "Marinette wanted to come but she's still on bed rest. Doctor's orders. Until we're sure that all of Nightmare's magic is out of her system, there is no transforming allowed for her. Taking Tikki was the only choice. That and I figured she could help us with the training." The red kwami nodded. As technically the oldest and wisest kwami, it was often up to her to help her brothers and sisters train their chosen when it came to it. She remained floating but crossed her legs.

"That's right. We'll be doing your training up here." The two of them eyed each other.

"Uh… dudette… what'll we do if our powers go haywire?"

"It probably won't happen Emerald," Tikki assured him, "Unlike Chat Noir, your powers are defensive instead of offensive. Cataclysm would be the only attack up here today capable of destroying anything. We'll be perfectly fine." His shoulders slumped in relief. A smile towards the kwami served as thanks for calming his nerves about the whole thing and she returned it before clearing her throat. "Okay, let's get started. Chat Noir is going to serve as your sparring partner. We'll start by practicing your basic powers. Unlike Ladybug and Chat Noir, you two have abilities that you can use in the defense of your team; their powers are strictly reserved for offensive attacks right now."

"Other than the super strength, speed, and enhanced senses, Cataclysm's all I've got. Once I use that, I have five minutes before I transform back," Chat added. He pulled his baton off his back and extended it to staff length, spinning it, and pointing it at the two of them. With a smirk, he teased, "Let's see what you got noobs."

Lady Fox stepped up and rolled her eyes. "I take back ever thinking you were cool." She pulled off her flute and eyed Tikki, waiting. The red kwami flew up to her.

"Your powers are for illusion which would make things a lot safer for Chat Noir. In battle, all you have to do is play your flute and will your illusions to life and they will come; however, they are not stable. They will disappear as soon as they are hit." She raised the thing and swallowed hard.

"But I…."

"It's alright. Just follow your instincts! Kwamis can adjust the powers of the heroes based on what they know their user can and cannot do. In your case, it'll be almost natural to play the flute even if you've never touched a real one in your life!" She nodded and raised the thing to her lips. Closing her eyes helped; she suddenly realized that she could play and she did. The sound that came out was soft and pleasant. The two other heroes on the roof watched pretty impressed as multiple foxes appeared, holding the same stance and mannerisms as the original. Her eyes burst open after she finished playing and she looked around. The clones mimicked her movement.

"Cool," they all said. Chat smirked and tightened his grip on his baton. Tikki nodded.

"Good job. Now try to confuse Chat and land a hit on him."

"Good luck," he sing-songed. The foxes all shot him a look before running off in different directions. Chat waited. They ducked and ran through the two tall towers on either side of the roof and, after a few minutes of the scrambling, they began their attack.

The first came from the right. She jumped down, fist ready to land on his face, but he merely stepped back and tapped her back with his baton, causing her to disappear in a puff of smoke. The next came from behind. He spun and tripped that one. It disappeared. Another came from the right again and it got in a couple of swings (which he dodged easily) before poking her in the chest with his baton. It poofed too. This pattern continued until it fell oddly quiet. The real Fox hadn't shown up.

"Come on Fox," he sing-songed, "You afraid to take on this cat?"

"In your dreams," she shouted as she came from above. Chat merely shook his head and extended his baton, catching her in the stomach. She oofed but disappeared. His face paled as he realized what had happened and someone tapped him on the shoulder. The real fox stood just off his right shoulder, a smile on her face, before she punched him. He flinched but otherwise, the damage was minimal. Tikki and Emerald giggled.

"Alright you two, that's enough," she called. She sighed happily and skipped over to Emerald, kissing his cheek. Chat mockingly rubbed his shoulder.

"I'll admit it, I got cocky." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't think I'll let that happen again."

"We'll see about that," she sing-songed, taking a seat on the edge of the roof. Tikki flew up to her.

"I forgot to mention one more thing," she continued, "Like Ladybug and Chat, you have a special ability you can call on but once it's used, you only have five minutes until you transform back. All you have to say is 'Fox Eyes' and it'll activate. What it does is it gives you the ability to see through other illusions and to locate akumas no matter where they are hiding." She smiled.

"That's a handy skill!"

"It is but you have to be careful. Use it too soon and you'll de-transform sooner. Too late and well…," she paused but eventually said, "Too late and your teammates could get hurt." Lady Fox swallowed and nodded, completely understanding. Tikki patted her forehead before turning back to the boys. "I'm not going to give you the same challenge Emerald. Your challenge instead is to take the hits from Chat without losing focus. Your shield's strength is based on your mentality. The more focused you are, the stronger it'll be. Lose focus and it'll shatter." Chat smirked his Cheshire grin. Emerald swallowed, raising his right wrist, instantly activating the see-through bright green shield. There were faint lines in it that made it look like a shell but otherwise, it was rather plain. He braced himself. "We'll go three minutes for now. Start!" Chat raised his baton and leaned his head playfully before disappearing. Emerald blinked but raised the shield as he came from above, hitting him with a lot of force that made him grunt and nearly fall back onto the roof, but he shoved the shield forward and pushed Chat away. He came back quickly. Their exchange went like this for some minutes. Chat would hit, back off, and come from another side, sometimes landing multiple hits at the same time. He did well until Lady Fox started shouting some rather… suggestive statements his way. A couple of times, he thought he lost his shield because it flickered but he quickly regained himself. Tikki shot Lady Fox a look but she didn't see it because she was too busy laughing over how flustered her boyfriend got over such things even though they had been dating for a while. When three minutes was up, Tikki called time. Chat froze just inches away from Emerald's shield. Both were panting hard. He dropped his arm and it disappeared; he wiped his brow with the other hand. Chat did the same. They walked towards each other, raised their arms, and high fived.

"Dude, that was rough. You really weren't holding back."

"No can do. Hawkmoth won't hold back so neither can we. Plus, the faster you master your powers, the faster I'll feel better about Marinette." They nodded in agreement.

"We're almost done for tonight. Just two more things Emerald. In a pinch, if you need it, your shield can be used as a long range weapon which you know." He nodded.

"Right. I used it on that Nightmare chick when I first got the miraculous."

"Exactly. The other thing is that like everyone else, you have a special ability that you can call on in a pinch but you have to be careful too. You'll have five minutes once it's used. All you have to do is say 'Shell Shield' and you'll make an impregnatable shield over a wide area." He nodded.

"Got it dudette." Tikki smiled and looked between the three of them.

"Excellent. That's it for now. All of you should head back and get some sleep. You do have school bright and early in the morning after all."

"Alright. Goodnight Chat. Tell Mari I'll text her tomorrow!"

"Later dude."

"Night you two and sure Fox," he waved as they took off for the edge of Dame. When both of them were gone, Chat headed in the opposite direction after Tikki was comfortable in his pocket again. He ran across the roof tops until he landed on the balcony of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He knew the hatch was still open and after he transformed back, he opened it and carefully climbed down on to Marinette's bed. She was awake and reading. She smiled as he came back in. "Hey you," he greeted.

"Welcome back," she returned. His heart swelled at the sound of it and after securing her entrance shut, he crawled onto the bed to snuggle up next to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, sighing happily, as he pulled her close. She smiled, kissing his forehead. "How'd it go with Lady Fox and Emerald Shield?"

"Good. They caught on pretty quick like we did." She giggled.

"Yeah except we didn't have any mentors to look up to. We were on our own."

"And I say we did well for on our own."

"I'm not disagreeing you silly cat." He looked up at her and smirked, sitting up to be at face level with her. Reaching behind her head, he gently pulled her in for a kiss which she happily accepted with a sigh. He didn't let it get out of hand. He took Master Fu's words of rest means rest seriously and had only allowed gentle kisses in the last couple of days. She pouted when he pulled away. "You know I'm not going to break right?"

"Normally I would say yes," he whispered, brushing her bangs off of her forehead. He kissed where he cleared. "But I'm not taking any chances. We are following Master Fu's orders to a 't.' No excitement, movement, or work for you. Rest." Her pout grew bigger.

"Spoil sport." He chuckled.

"Yes but I'm your spoil sport."

"Touché."

"Did you drink your medicine?" She flinched. He eyed her accusingly but she pointed to the empty cup next to her.

"I promise I did. Even if it taste horrible and should be illegal in all of Paris."

"You've only got three more days on it. It'll be over before you know it." He smiled. "And hey, at least you'll be well again by Saturday. Wouldn't have you missing the ball after all." She rolled her eyes.

"You just don't want to have to dance with Chloe."

"You would let me experience that?" She stroked his cheek before playfully poking his nose. He wrinkled his face at her before kissing the finger that poked him.

"Nah. I think I like you too much to let that happen."

"You better like me considering we've been dating for two days now." Her heart thumped a little louder. Both of their faces flushed red a bit. Neither of them could get the goofy grin off of their face. He laid back down onto the bed, nuzzling into her side, yawning. "We better go to sleep. I do have to get up and go to school tomorrow."

She nodded. Tikki flew over to the light, clicking it off. When everything was dark, she laid down next to him, wrapping her arm over his waist as he pulled her into his arms, their legs entangling together.

"Good night Adrien," she whispered. She leaned her head back once more to kiss him and when they broke apart, he mumbled "Night" in return before fading off to sleep.


	31. Chapter 31

**Author's Notes: This is it. This is the final story arch. This is the one that started it all. Now it's going to be the ending of it to. ... I'm really sad. Legit tears are falling right now as I work on 32. GUYS. ENJOY.**

 **Chapter 31**

Marinette wiped her brow as she finished putting the final touches on her ball gown. It was Friday evening and without any akuma attacks in the week, she found the time to put the last piece of the skirt in place, and accent it in shimmering silver jewels around the waist area. She smiled up at Tikki who inspected it.

"You did a wonderful job Marinette," she chirped. The young seamstress nodded before standing.

"It was close but I managed to get it done."

"I guess it helped that you didn't have to patrol any this week after all." She pursed her lips and sighed.

"True. Lady Fox and Emerald Shield are a huge help in that respect." Even after Wednesday had passed and she'd claimed to be alright to the three others, Adrien, Nino, and Alya all had forbidden her from joining the Thursday night patrol. In fact, Tikki had been told to go with Chat just so she wouldn't transform. She understood her friends worry but if Master Fu said she was fine, then she was fine, and she was itching to return to the skyline dressed in her spots. She wanted to be running beside them. They still refused despite her pleading. The only thing that left her to do was finalize her dress which she did between Thursday and Friday. Now she was ready for tomorrow evening and the big event. "But still. I really want to get back out there. I miss being able to swing over Paris." Tikki nuzzled her temple.

"Don't worry Mari. You'll be able to get back out there soon. We're all just concerned that the magic might not be completely gone; even Master Fu wasn't that sure about Wednesday."

"Yeah but…."

"How about we try it out carefully Sunday if you aren't too tired from the ball? That way, Chat can be there and we won't have to be suited for too long." Marinette smiled and agreed, knowing that there was no use in arguing with Tikki who could be rather stubborn herself. She took off the pin cushion on her wrist and went to sit at her desk. A message appeared on her desktop. It was from Adrien. Since he too had been forbidden from returning to her room, he'd taken to sending her cat photos over the Internet. She only rolled her eyes and humored him, opening them, giggling, and then scolding him for sending her such things. He only sent more.

This time, it wasn't a cat picture. It was a simple sentence:

 **CatsMeow: I miss you.**

She blinked before smiling softly. She replied immediately.

 **FashionistaDiva: Didn't you see me earlier today?**

 **CatsMeow: Yeah but still.**

 **CatsMeow: Not the same thing.**

 **CatsMeow: I didn't get to cuddle you or anything. Plus no kissing cause… well….**

 **FashionistaDiva: … I know.**

 **CatsMeow:…**

 **CatsMeow:…**

 **CatsMeow: Can I come over?**

She rolled her eyes.

 **FashionistaDiva: Good try but no.**

 **FashionistaDiva: You know my dress is a secret until tomorrow.**

 **CatsMeow: Darn. I tried.**

 **FashionistaDiva: … Did you even want to see me or where you trying to steal a glance at the dress?**

 **CatsMeow: … Both?**

 **FashionistaDiva: Good-night Adrien Agreste.**

 **CatsMeow: My lady!**

 **CatsMeow: Please come back!**

 **CatsMeow: I'm sorry I made you mad!**

 **CatsMeow: I purromise not to do it again!**

 **FashionistaDiva: YOU JUST DID WITH THE PUN!**

 **CatsMeow: You think my puns are the cat's meow and don't lie.**

 **FashionistaDiva: Ugh. Whatever. I'm still going to bed either way.** Marinette paused typing before she smiled and sent back. **For the record, I'm not mad at you so don't worry about that. I'm tired. For real.** **Good night. I love you 3**

 **CatsMeow: …**

 **CatsMeow: …**

 **CatsMeow: …**

 **CatsMeow: You are a mean and cruel person Marinette Dupain-Cheng.**

 **FashionistaDiva: Yeah but you love me.**

 **CatsMeow: Yeah but I love you. Sleep well purrincess.**

Marinette chuckled to herself and closed out of the chat, keeping good to her word and disappearing off to bed.

The ball was being hosted at the mayor's hotel because Chloe, of course, insisted upon it. Marinette fidgeted in her dress as her mother applied some blush to her cheeks. She pulled back with a soft grunt. "Honey, you're going to make a mess. Stop moving."

"Sorry mama," she mumbled. Sabine gave her a soft smile and finished the makeup. She put her brush down.

"Oh Mari. When did you grow so big?" The older woman handed her a hand held mirror. Mari eyed herself. The makeup was light, only to highlight the softness of her face and eyes even though she was going to be wearing a mask the whole time. Her hair was out of its pigtails and was up, curled a bit, cascading down her neck. A small crystal ladybug hair piece (specially made of course) helped to hold everything in place. She wore a matching necklace that stayed softly on her collar bone; her shoulders and neck were left exposed by the sharp line of her dress and the soft, see-through material that circled only a tiny portion of her shoulders. The skirt, pink and silver, fanned out from her waist, stopping just at the floor.

Walking was going to be a hazard tonight.

Just as long as there wasn't an akuma, she could manage this.

Mari smiled and picked up her skirt, standing, and leaning over to place a peck on the older woman's cheek. "Thank-you mama." Her mother beamed with pride before standing out of the way to let her head down the stairs. Tom ducked his head up at them as he heard the footsteps coming. He too beamed with pride.

"You look lovely baby," he commented, taking a hand to help her down. Mari giggled and kissed his cheek when she was secure.

"All Mama's doing."

"Nonsense. You're always beautiful without it." He kissed her forehead. "Your friends are downstairs waiting. Ready to knock their socks off?" She smirked and nodded, taking his arm to go down the next set of stairs and into the bakery.

Three sets of eyes landed on her as she came down the stairs followed closely by her parents. Nino and Adrien dropped their jaws appropriately to the bakery floor and she was pleased to see how bright Adrien's cheeks went as he eyed her. Alya let out an unearthly screech. She picked up the front of her own dress, the halter burnt orange floor length that accented her nicely she'd made over a month ago, and "ran" over to Mari, hugging her tightly.

"Girl! You look amazing! I'm so glad you didn't show me!" Mari blushed at the praise.

"Thanks Alya," she smiled. One of the boys cleared their throat.

"You look totally awesome Mari," Nino complimented. He walked up and wrapped an arm around Alya, his grin matching hers. He wore a suit that was a tiny bit big for him and he wore the matching burnt orange bow tie and pocket square. His mask was sticking out of the pocket on the front of the jacket. Adrien stayed frozen at the entrance, his mouth still open. Alya and Marinette giggled.

"You better get over there. I think you broke him."

"I think I did too." Marinette picked up the front of her dress and headed towards him. He swallowed hard as she approached. Suddenly, his suit felt too hot. He tugged at the neckline to cool himself a bit and she didn't fail to notice the motion. "Good evening Adrien," she greeted softly. He tried to say something but the words got stuck in his throat and all he managed was a soft squeak. She covered her mouth to hide her giggle. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "But I'd say it's more of the stunning girl in front of me. I'm glad you were stubborn about me seeing it." She winked.

"I told you it would be worth the wait." He held out his hand for her and she took it. Sabine pushed Alya and Nino over to the other two, insistent that there be pictures taken before they were driven to the ball. She held up her smart phone as the four of them moved to stand in front of the door. Alya and Mari were in the middle with each boy behind their respective date. After several together, individuals, and partners, and a couple of silly photos, the four of them headed outside where the Gorilla was waiting in Adrien's limo. He held the door open for them and assisted the girls in before returning to the driver's seat and taking off down the street. They spoke animatedly in the back. Mari held Adrien's hand in the seat and leaned in close to him. Alya eyed her with a smug grin and teased her about it before Mari ever so lovingly placed her elbow into the giggling girl's side.

The limo came to a smooth stop in front of Le Grand Paris. The Gorilla once more got out to open the door for the four of them, each now exiting with a mask across their faces. Adrien took Marinette's hand without hesitation, guiding her across the red carpet; if Chloe was anything, she wasn't small. Everyone was greeted like a celebrity by wait staff and some photographers before being escorted to the ballroom.

To say it was grand was an understatement. The walls and floors were all a gold-tint and the windows viewing outside lit up with the skyline of Paris. A giant crystal chandelier, surrounded by many smaller versions, hung majestically from the ceiling and each of them sparkled with the lights that ran through them. Half of the room was set up with tables covered in a white cloth and decorated with floors and fine china. Each had a name card on it. They looked for their seats only to realize that Marinette was sitting in a far off corner of the room, practically alone at her table, until Adrien went to have a word with Chloe about it. Alya patted her shoulder.

"Easy girl. I can't bail you out of jail."

"She did that on purpose," she huffed. "It's petty and she's jealous." When Adrien returned, there was a smile on his face as he grabbed the name card and placed it at the seat next to his. She blinked. "What did you say?"

"Nothing too bad but I'd rather it stay between me and her if you don't mind." He kissed her hand. She tilted her head confused but did as he requested and let it slide. The evening started off with a couple of waltzes. As soon as the first song was played, Nino led Alya out onto the floor. Adrien offered a hand to Marinette. "Ready to blow them off their feet?" He winked. She rolled her eyes.

"You know, we haven't been able to practice in the last two weeks," she mused, moving close and placing her hands correctly. "I'm probably really rusty."

"Remember," he whispered, leaning closer to her ear, "If you're partner's any shade of decent, they won't let you screw up. Since I'm both, it definitely won't happen." She shook her head.

"You're incorrigible."

"Yes but loveable," he stated. He moved with the song as soon as the live orchestral group started playing. Marinette breathed and followed his step. He was right. Even after missing two weeks, she was only a tiny bit rusty (she did step on his toes a couple of times which he had to quickly calm her down for) but for the most part, she remembered everything. She remembered to follow his lead. She remembered to keep her back straight. She remembered to keep her knees loose but not too loose. She remembered how to hold her arms to keep them more balanced.

She remembered to breathe.

A smile plastered itself on her face and refused to leave. She felt like an incorrigible idiot herself. Adrien's eyes never left her either. Really, it felt like the universe had melted away and they were the only ones left, dancing and staring, debating on whether or not kissing each other right here and now was really a wise decision.

He led her in a spin.

Her dress fanned out around her beautifully. It was near perfect save for a little hiccup as she came back to his arms but he smiled brightly and congratulated her on succeeding in the spin.

When the song ended, the room erupted into applause.

Marinette blinked confused until she realized that everyone else had moved off to the side, staring at them. Adrien smirked wider. He continued to hold her hand and bowed and she quickly curtseyed to the group of people around them. When had they all cleared the floor?

"You were so focused," Adrien smirked at her, "That you didn't see everyone stopping to watch us huh?" She blushed.

"You got me." He kissed the hand he held.

"You were beautiful out there Marinette. They couldn't help but stare." Her face grew redder.

"Th-thank-you Adrien." The blush only slightly faded as Alya came up, squeezing her in a hug.

"You two were awesome! When did clumsy Mari learn to dance like that?" The pink dressed girl stuck out her tongue.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" They giggled before walking arm and arm back to their table to sit the next song out. After a couple more sets, dinner was served. It was a grand dinner with a salad starter, chicken and thyme, steamed vegetables, soup, bread, and sweet desserts from the finest bakery in Paris (Mari grumbled because she knew that bakery was her parents and Adrien agreed immediately). When everyone was done eating, they milled about for some time before the orchestral group started playing again.

In fact, they were just getting ready to play, the first bow was pulled across the strings, but it made a horrible hiss as everyone in the room was startled by a screeching voice.

"MY DRESS! LOOK AT MY DRESS!"

All eyes turned immediately to look at the dress as ordered. Chloe was wearing a princess style dress only hers looked more… authentic than Marinette's. It definitely looked like something a queen in ye olde days would wear. On the front of it, and clearly what the young diva was screeching about like a banshee, was a huge red stain that went from the bodice down to the skirt. The woman standing in front of her was shaking.

"I-I-I…."

"Look what you've done! My dress is ruined! All because you were a clumsy oaf!" Chloe immediately reached for the wine glass and what little that remained in the cup was unceremoniously dumped on the fallen, shaking woman. Marinette realized with a gasp that it was Madame Amelie suffering under the girl. She started to move forward but someone beat her to it. Adrien walked quickly up to the older woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, glaring.

"Shame on you Chloe," he scolded. "She didn't mean to spill anything on you. There was no need for you to do this." She humphed.

"Serves her right. She's a horrible dance instructor anyway. No one likes her, no one respects her, and no one learns anything from her anyway."

"That's not true," Marinette added, walking up behind them. She glared Chloe down just as well as she was currently glaring at them.

"A lot of us learned to dance from Madame Amelie. Without her, we wouldn't be half the dancers we currently are." Adrien helped the woman stand from where she had fallen. Chloe waved a hand.

"Whatever. The only reason she's here anyway is because Mr. Damocles said she had to come. Now I want her gone! Out! She ruined my dress." She clapped and her servant came up. "Have her removed immediately!"

"Yes ma'am," he bowed. Adrien glared.

"At least let her clean up first. Don't send her out like this. It's winter! She'll get sick." Mayor Bourgeois came up behind his daughter and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Sweetie, he's right. Let's let her clean up first and then she can go?" She rolled her eyes and brushed him off.

"Ugh whatever. Just make sure she doesn't come back!" She stomped off then with Sabrina following behind her. Adrien tightened his grip.

"Here ma'am, let's get you cleaned up." She nodded solemnly. Together, the three of them followed a servant to an extra room. Adrien stayed outside as Marinette went in to help the older woman. She removed the dress and Marinette immediately began blotting at the stain with an extra cloth left in the room.

"Thankfully there isn't a lot on here. This should get cleaned up in a bit." She looked around once she was done dabbing and realized that she forgot to ask for salt and club soda. "I am so sorry! I forgot to ask for some things. Let me go do that real quick." The older woman only nodded again. Marinette smiled sadly at her. Back in the hallway, she shook her head at Adrien. "That was a rotten thing for Chloe to do. That poor woman." She took a breath. "I need to get some salt and club soda."

"Right, I'll go…."

There was the sound of shattering glass from in the room and the two of them eyed each other confused. Opening the door quickly, they found Madame Amelie gone, and the room in shambles. Mari gasped. From the ballroom they heard the sounds of screaming and knew without a doubt that Chloe had done it again.

Madame Amelie was now an akuma.

Tikki and Plagg flew out of Adrien's pocket. Marinette bit her bottom lip.

"Looks like I don't have any choice tonight Tikki." She nodded.

"Yes but, you'll need to be extra careful. Don't get hit by any magic of hers." Marinette returned it and Adrien gripped her hand.

"Don't worry Tikki. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks." Turning to face her kwami, Marinette smirked. "Tikki, spots on!"

"Plagg, claws out!"


	32. Chapter 32

**Author's Notes: I PROMISE THIS IS THE LAST CLIFFHANGER!**

 **Chapter 32**

Ladybug poked her head around the door frame leading into the grand ballroom. She could clearly see a couple of tables over turned from where people had attempted to escape but she couldn't see much else. The sound of pleasant waltz music echoed in the room. Chat leaned in next to her.

" _Waltz_ the problem Ladybug? We better _step_ on it if we're going to end this akuma."

She glared at him.

"Does this really look like the time to be making puns?"

"Anytime is pun time if you've got the right skills." She groaned and face-palmed. He only chuckled.

"Well, pun on your own time. Right now, we need to find Alya and Nino and get them cleared to transform."

"Want me to run distraction?"

"Not until we know where they are. It's too dangerous for us to run in blindly. I have a plan but we're going to need Lady Fox's illusions to pull it off."

"Great. So let's find her."

"Again. Not that simple. We've got an unknown akuma in there right now and if we just go _waltzing_ in, we'll end up in a world of hurt." Now it was his turn to dead pan her.

"Really?"

"What?"

"You punned!"

"Not intentionally." Her yo-yo started to buzz and she picked it up instantly, realizing that it was Emerald on the other end. She smiled as his face, and Lady Fox's came into view. "Emerald, Fox, you two got out!"

"Yeah just barely," he said. "She came crashing into the room and people were running everywhere. We managed to duck into a supply closet but now our way is blocked. She was floating up above the dance floor when we were hiding. Everyone she's zapped is being forced to waltz until they wear themselves out or worse."

"She's going for the or worse," Fox added.

"What can you see from your position? We can't get a visual on the dance floor."

"We can't open the door too wide or we'll be _spotted_ ," she said, cracking the door open a bit. Chat Noir crossed his arms and pouted.

"So it's alright if you two pun but not me?"

"Mine was not intentional!"

"Mine was and it was way better than yours Chat!" Emerald groaned.

"Would you two please kindly focus? We do have an akuma to worry about."

"Yes, oh great leader. Alright, so pretty much all I can see from here is everyone dancing around. I don't even see the akuma anymore."

"What about Fox's ability?"

"But if I use it….."

"I know," Ladybug cut in. "We're all in the same boat. The instant we use our powers, we only have five minutes." She took a breath. "I have a plan but it's going to be risky. Think we can handle this in five minutes?"

"I'm game to try. It's better than us being stuffed in this closet the whole time," Emerald agreed.

"I'll agree after I hear what you're going to say," Fox hesitated.

"I second that," Chat basically growled. "You are not putting yourself in danger again. I promised Tikki I wouldn't let you get hurt." Ladybug flinched at his expression but shared the plan anyway.

"Fox, use your ability to locate the akuma. When you're done with that, using the time you have left, I need you to make it look like Chat and I are still Marinette and Adrien. We'll go out on the dance floor, dance like the others, and get as close to her as we can. I'll use lucky charm and hope it gives us something we can use to stop her in her tracks. Emerald, I want you to protect Alya for now. I'm sorry. I know you want to be involved but once she converts back, she won't be able to protect herself until Trixx is all recharged. You'll be our secret weapon in case something goes wrong. Got it?"

"Loud and clear dude."

She eyed Chat whose fists were clenching and unclenching at his side. "Are you alright with this?"

He sighed. "Not really but we don't have much of a choice now do we?" She nodded.

"Alright. Go for it Fox."

Ladybug could see through the video call the other girl take a deep breath. She closed her eyes and said, "Fox Eyes!" Her eyes turned a luminescent orange and the pupils were no longer visible. In her mind, Lady Fox saw the whole room. She could see Emerald next her completely covered in green, Ladybug and Chat outside the ballroom entrance in red and black, and the spinning people colored in white (all except for one who was colored yellow but that wasn't her priority right now). She locked on immediately to the person colored a dark purple and took stock of her. She wore a fancy dress with her hair up. In her hand was a wand but it was her shoes that caught her attention. One was a solid purple, different than everything else she'd seen so far which had been more of clear shades. The akuma must be there! When the vision ended, she nearly collapsed onto Emerald. She immediately said, "Middle of the dance floor, left shoe!" Ladybug nodded.

"Excellent work. Can you get those illusions running?" Fox nodded and quickly pulled out her flute, wasting no time in playing. Emerald watched fascinated as even from a distance, Ladybug and Chat clearly began to look like their civilian selves again. Even his eyes were fooled. Ladybug looked into the phone again. "Alright, we'll make it fast. Don't give up on us Fox until your miraculous runs out. We'll get that akuma fast."

"You better Ladybug," Emerald encouraged. "I don't know how long she can keep this up."

She nodded and closed her yo-yo and replaced it on her hip. Smiling she held out her hand towards Chat.

"Ready Mr. Agreste?"

"As ready as I'll ever be Ms. Dupain-Cheng," he answered, taking her hand in his. Trusting in the illusions, they snuck into the ballroom where, thankfully, no one noticed their arrival. They immediately joined in the circle of twirling bodies, flowing easily into the mix. Ladybug looked over his shoulder at the middle of the dance floor when she could. She saw the akuma clearly. She was laughing as the people danced.

"Yes my students. Dance for me! Show me how much you have learned from Madame Pirouette!"

"Hawkmoth's slipping," Chat mused. "Pirouettes aren't even done in waltzing. That's ballet!"

"Well, she is a dance instructor," Ladybug whispered. "She probably teaches both." They spun again. Marinette concentrated on keeping up with the rest of the crowd. They were dancing almost expertly in multiple circles and spins. She swallowed hard. Even in costume, she was having a difficult time keeping up with it. "This is ridiculous. They're dancing way too well."

"It's probably the spell she has them under."

"True. Think she'll share with me?" He glared at her and she quickly realized her mistake. "Sorry Chat. I didn't mean it."

"You are going to give me gray hairs at this rate." She smiled at him.

"I promise I won't."

He grunted in returned. "Yeah, well, let's just get this akuma so I don't have to worry anymore." She smirked even more at him. They twirled again, clearly laying eyes on the akuma.

"Get ready to run distraction." He nodded.

"I got a plan. Just trust me and go do what you need to." She nodded. When the music stopped and everyone turned to bow to their partner, Chat Noir made his way to the middle of the floor. Madame Pirouette eyed him. He bowed politely to her.

"Might I have this dance Madame?" She hesitated. A purple butterfly mask appeared over her face but she merely giggled and brushed it off, replying to the air, "Of course he's under my spell. I specifically made sure all of them were!" She took his hand and as the next song began, they started off twirling on the floor. Ladybug ducked behind a pillar. Her yo-yo buzzed again. She opened it to see Emerald looking concerned.

"Dude, you better hurry. Fox is almost out of time." He panned over so that Ladybug could see that she still had her flute to her lips, but her brow was knitted together, and there was clear sweat coming off of it. She looked exhausted and her necklace, the fox tail, was already down to only two places left.

"Just a little longer Fox," she encouraged. "Chat Noir's distracting. I'm using lucky charm now." She hung up the phone. Closing her yo-yo, she flung it skyward calling, "Lucky Charm!" She sent up a silent prayer that Chat's distraction was working and the akuma didn't see the mass of red sparks appearing in the air as it was changing and transforming into a long piece of rope. "Rope? Okay, think Ladybug. Think." She looked out around the pillar. Her vision lit up the rope, the akuma's foot, and the chandelier. She smirked. Excellent.

Just then the akuma let out a shriek.

"You! You're Chat Noir!"

Ladybug gasped. She looked down in shock and realized that the illusion had worn off. Chat grinned embarrassingly at the akuma as she continued to screech as she picked him up and threw him over the heads of all the dancers. He landed into the pillar she hid behind with a grunt.

"Your turn, my lady," he groaned as he slid to the ground.

"You better get up kitty. I need that distraction."

"With pleasure." He picked himself up and ran to meet the akuma. She waved her wand and ribbons shot out, tangling themselves around Chat Noir and flinging him off in another direction. He shook his head as he recovered from the hit and gasped. Ladybug had exposed herself. She was throwing it up and over the chandelier. Chat Noir scrambled to his feet. He wasn't… Chat wasn't going to reach her in time!

"Ladybug," he screamed.

She turned to face him. The worry in his eyes only told her one thing.

She spun but not in enough time.

Madame Pirouette was upon her.

Her wand was raised and coming down to strike her.

Ladybug crossed her arms in front of her face.

 _I'm sorry Tikki. I couldn't keep my promise._


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

Marinette was ready for the impact. She was expecting pain or something far worse. What if she wasn't purified from Nightmare's magic? What if the two mixed inside of her, clashed with Tikki's power, and… and killed her?

It didn't happen though.

She heard the words, "Shell Shield" ring out across the dance room. There was almost a static sound as the wand of her attacker hit something and then immediately bounced off. Ladybug opened her eyes and found herself looking at the back of a giant green shield, similar to the smaller version that had been on Emerald's arm during training (even though she hadn't seen it), and it came from the doorway of the supply closet. Emerald Shield had his arm extended out and a cocky grin on his face.

"We told you you weren't fighting alone," he shouted. She smirked and gave him a thumbs up. Madame Pirouette staggered, holding her head, unable to focus from the shock she'd just received. The purple butterfly mask appeared over her lacy white one and she tried to regain herself.

"Drop the shield Emerald," Ladybug ordered. He nodded and did as ordered. She took the rope and quickly tossed it out, wrapping it securely around the akuma's foot. "Chat now!"

"As you wish my lady," he smirked, pulling on the other end of the rope. Madame Pirouette let out a screech as she was suddenly dragged up into the air, the shoe with the akuma violently pulled off. Ladybug caught it, immediately breaking it in two. A cheer went up from her companions.

"No more evil doing for you little butterfly," she smiled, dropping her yo-yo. It spun until it was ready to capture the akuma. "Time to de-evilize!" The akuma, tired and weak from having transformed the teacher, fluttered weakly, making it an easy catch. Ladybug caught her weapon. "Caught'ya." She opened it, smiling even brighter at the now pure white butterfly that flew out, "Bye-bye little butterfly." She grabbed the rope and tossed it skyward to complete the spell, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The little red swarm fanned out on the area. The tables righted themselves, everyone was awaken from the spell, and the windows that had been broken were repaired beyond notice.

Chat Noir came up beside her with a grin, "Ladybug, how are you feeling?"

"I'm alright." She smirked and raised her fist. He chuckled and returned it. "Pound it," they said together. Emerald ran up to them.

"Alya got clear of the closet," he whispered. "Now I think the three of us should disappear as well." They nodded, heading immediately for the exit. They didn't wait for anyone to say anything, considering that their civilian personas were supposed to be at the ball itself. They ran for an empty room, all de-transforming at the same time. Wayzz, Tikki, and Plagg all collapsed on the bed.

"You did excellently today master," Wayzz directed at Nino. The dark skinned boy rubbed the back of his neck, smiling while Plagg just shrugged and Tikki eyed her chosen concerned. Marinette sighed as Adrien wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her neck.

"Marinette, are you alright?" His eyes were filled with concern as he looked her over. She smiled at him and turned to face him completely, stroking his cheek.

"I'm perfectly alright. I think the purifying worked. I don't feel dizzy or sick or anything." His shoulders slumped, relieved.

"Thank goodness," he sighed. Marinette kissed his nose before dropping her hands to take one in her own.

"Come on you two," she smirked, "we have a ball to attend."

As they exited the room, Alya ran up to them. She caught Mari in a hug before turning to hug Nino (who also got a little peck on the cheek). "You're all okay," she cried. "I was so worried it hadn't worked." Mari smirked.

"Of course it did. You were awesome!" She reached out to pet Trixx's head too. "And so were you. Thanks for hanging on for us Trixx." The little kwami giggled.

"Don't mention it. I had fun messing with that akuma!" She took off of Alya's shoulder to quickly hide in one of Nino's pockets. Alya took Mari's hand.

"Come on. Let's end this party in style. I think all of us have had our turn dancing. Go hijack that DJ's booth Nino." He raised an eyebrow.

"What DJ's booth?"

She rolled her eyes. "How could you miss it? It was definitely covered in a white cloth behind the orchestral group. They've already packed up and left, saying something about not getting paid enough to deal with this stuff. Besides, we just finished being attacked by an akuma. I think we all deserve to let loose a bit." Nino cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders.

"Well why didn't anybody say so? One sick track of beats coming right up!" Alya led him back inside. Marinette rolled her eyes, held tightly on to Adrien's arm, and followed suit.

Somewhere in Paris, Hawkmoth grunted as he slammed the end of his cane down against the floor.

"Next time Ladybug," he swore, "Next time, I will claim your miraculouses. I will have this ultimate power at all cost. Our little dance will end soon. I promise you that!"


	34. Chapter 34

**Author's Notes: This is it guys. This is the final chapter. I want to thank each and every one of you who stayed with me for this whole wild ride. Also, for the record, the song lyrics are from "Can I have this Dance?" from High School Musical 3. Well, thanks again for reading and enjoy the final chapter!**

 **Chapter 34**

Marinette leaned against the railing on the balcony. The fancy ambiance of the ball was long gone; for the last hour, Nino had taken control of the DJ booth and, as promised, he was dropping some rather sick beats the whole time. Chloe, of course, made some complaints but everyone else was tired of her behavior and so they told her to shut it and enjoy or shove it and go. She closed her mouth. Every now and then someone would make a request and he would play it, adding only a touch of his flair. She realized that she needed some air to cool off so she stood on the balcony outside the ballroom. Tikki rested on the balcony between her hands, eating a cookie she'd smuggled out. She swung her legs gently. "I'm glad you're alright Mari," she said around a bit of cookie. "You cut it a little close there near the end."

"Yeah I know," she said rubbing her head. "But I have a team now and I'm glad for it. I think our future is going to get a lot brighter. Hawkmoth really doesn't stand a chance now."

Tikki giggled. From inside, they heard Nino announce, "Hey dudes and dudettes, we're slowing this one way down with a special request. No waltzing required but go ahead and grab that special person."

 _Take my hand, take a breath_

 _Pull me close and take one step_

 _Keep your eyes locked on mine,_

 _And let the music be your guide._

"My lady." She turned to find Adrien smiling at her. He held out his hand and she smirked, taking it, as he pulled her close. They stayed in their embrace for a second before he swallowed hard and asked, "Well, shall we dance?"

"With pleasure," she agreed. They started moving with the beat. Adrien smiled down at her.

"You know, I was saving that song for a while."

"That was _your_ request?"

"What can I say? High School Musical three is life." She shook her head.

"What is it with you and foreign movies?"

 _It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you_

 _It's one in a million, the chances of feeling the way we do_

 _And with every step together, we just keep on getting better_

 _So can I have this dance (can I have this dance)_

 _Can I have this dance_

"There's nothing wrong with that. Hang around with me some more and I'm sure you'll end up liking them just as much as I do."

"Is that a request for me to hang around?" They turned again and he placed his forehead gently on hers.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I'm asking you to hang around. For a long time if you don't mind."

 _And you can't keep us apart (even a thousand miles, can't keep us apart)_

"How long exactly," she teased. He smirked, leading her into a spin. She twirled expertly by now, coming back to his arms, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. She tucked her head under his chin, sighing happily.

"Can I ask for forever," he whispered in her ear. She smiled, not moving her head. Her heart was pounding right out of her chest.

"Of course. I'd be more than happy to oblige with that," she returned. There came the low rumble of thunder overhead. A couple of small rain drops fell on them and within seconds the rain was coming down pretty hard. They looked up and giggled. Instead of running inside for shelter, they continued spinning outside. Plagg and Tikki had flown up out of sight but they were protected from the rain as they watched their chosen spin in it.

"They really should go inside," Plagg grumbled. "They're going to be sick."

"Oh hush. Let them be romantic for now."

"But…."

Tikki reached up and put her hand up and silenced him. He fell silent and rolled his eyes. He would never understand their definition of romance; how being sick was romantic was just far beyond him and it wasn't worth arguing.

 _It's like catching lightning the chances of finding someone like you (like you)_

"You know," she mused, "I fell in love with you on a rainy day too."

He stopped spinning as he pulled her in for a gentle kiss. The rain continued to pour down.

"Then maybe the rain is a symbol of good luck for us," he mumbled. "I'm thinking something in the spring."

"Easy there kitty-cat. We gotta get out of college first. We're only Juniors right now."

He smiled and kissed her nose. "Then that just means we have forever to make it work." He pulled her in for one final kiss.

 _Can I have this dance_

 _Can I have this dance?_


	35. Chapter 35

Hi all!

Why yes, this is an update on a completed story. It's for a good reason though! I have some important news related to this story! I wish I could post an image here but I can't so, what I'll do instead is post the link ( fave. me /dax3bfa), ask you to take a look, and say this:

March 2017.

#thedanceisntoveryet

Also, special thanks to Fanatic97 for helping create the idea and for being an awesome co-writer!


	36. Of Runways and Darkness Preview

**AN: March 1st can't get here fast enough! I'm excited for this new story which is sequel to "Shall We Dance?" Crazyfanatic97 is a horrible enabler. Anyway, enjoy the preview!**

Adrien's blood ran cold. His hand slipped out of hers as his eyes glazed over, heart beating rapidly. He felt sick and dizzy and all things associated with shock and confusion; he swallowed hard. Clenching and un-clenching his fist, he asked softly, "Wh-what did you say?"

Marinette's jaw tightened. "Adrien… please don't make me repeat it."

He stood then. Their height difference had always been astounding but now, as anger seethed off of him in silent waves, it was damn near suffocating. Now it was she who swallowed hard. Mari leaned her head back to meet his eyes. She kept the fire in her baby blues, determined to not let him see how truly shaken she was by the whole ordeal. Adrien reached out and gently ran a hand down her arm. "I want to know you mean it. Say it again Marinette." She shivered. The motion was part from his own movement on her arm and from the words she anticipated repeating.

Marinette took a deep breath. Locking her gaze with his she eventually whispered:

"Adrien Agreste, I'm breaking up with you."


End file.
